The Dragon
by KelpieandTheHuntress
Summary: "I am the ghost that everyone can see. Born of the blood of an Emperor and a Knight, black of hair and heart, a soul as corrupt as this Nation. I am the Dragon, I am Zero, and I am Empress. I am Leloucia vi Britannia, and you will obey me." (female lelouch)
1. Chapter 1

_In the years preceding her exile, Leloucia vi Britannia's childhood could be deemed a happy one. Her mother, the 5th Empress Consort, Marianne vi Britannia, dotted on her young child, showering her with the love every child craves; she was in wanted for nothing as a Princess of the Realm and the copious amounts of presents rained on her could leave even the most spoiled Noble child with want; her father, the 98th Emperor, Charlze zi Britannia, visited the vi Britannia line more often than any other, much to the dismay of his many other wives and children, and as such the 5th Empress and her child were considered to be among his favorites._

 _When she was 3, a new sister was introduced into her life. Eye witnesses claim that the older Princess cared little for the new baby, even going so far as to call her a nuisance, but it didn't take long for the new Princess, Nunnally vi Britannia, to become the center of their small family._

 _Years later, when the 5th Empress was slain by terrorists and her younger sister crippled, many scholars claim that something broke in the small Princess and a hatred for those responsible developed, urging her to face her father and demand he look into the attack, an act that would not only see her and her sister exiled to Japan as hostages, but also seal the fate of the entire world._

\- _The Rise of Zero and The Dragon_

A small pyre was built by the sea. The bodies of Genbu Kururugi and others who had been extracted from the now ruined Kururugi house lay on it in preparation to be burned.

Leloucia stood watching the flames, the fire light dancing over the hollow angles of her face as she held the hand of the small wheelchair bound girl beside her. Nunnally vi Britannia, the second of the exiled Princesses.

Suzaku stood on her other side, small form shaking as tears streaked down his face.

"P-Please… don't l-leave me..."

He was so scared. So scared she would see him as a monster now and abandoned him like the rest. So scared of being alone.

"I won't." She laced her fingers through his so that all three children now watched the fire hand in hand. "I swear to you Suzaku. One day I will destroy Britannia."

He looked over at her through watery eyes. She looked scary in the light of the fire, but he knew her better than that. She was weak; a scrawny little girl who could barley even lift Nunnally without help. How could she destroy the strongest Nation in the world when an entire country of grown ups couldn't?

He didn't doubt her words though and fear seized him as he realized she would do exactly what she promised, with or without any upper or lower body strength, and once again he would lose everything close to him.

He gave her hand a squeeze, silently promising her his own strength. He would give her everything, even his life if needed, so long as she always kept him at her side, so long as she didn't leave him like the rest.

…

 _"I swear to you Suzaku... One day I will destroy Britannia."_

The dream still echoed in his mind. Leloucia, young and alive, promising him the destruction of her Homeland.

He had believed her. He had really believed her.

In that moment, his countries defences falling around him, he believed what the small ten-year-old girl had promised him.

The plane shook.

"404, look alive!"

Suzaku straightened up under the glare of his commanding officer, not wishing to give the man another reason to hate him. He couldn't help however, returning to his previous train of thought.

He had been naïve, stupid, to think she could do that. She was one person, a weakling hiding from Britannian, possibly already dead. Anything she could have done would just have put her and her sister in more danger. And that wasn't something she would be willing to do, meaning he was without his only ally.

It was he who would have to fix this. He had created this mess and he had to clean it up. This was his burden. His sin.

"Soldiers! Salute the Captain of the Royal Guards!" Their commanding officer's shout fully pulled Suzaku from his thoughts as he stood to facing the screen at that back of their transporter. The rest of the Honorary Brtannian's around him stood at attention with him, saluting the television.

Captain Natesie of the Royal Guards appeared on the screen, cold grey eyes surveying them with distain. The scar just under his left eye even seemed to twitch with disgust.

He sneered down at them as he spoke. _"We are after an armed and dangerous terrorist group that had the audacity to steal from his Highness, the Prince. We believe these terrorists are hiding in the Subway System and it is your mission to locate the weapon that they've stolen."_ The screen changed to a picture of a reddish brown spherical object with many odd wires and cylinders sticking out of it. It wasn't until the man spoke again that Suzaku understood what kind of weapon it was. _"Poison gas. Highly dangerous and with a range that would whip out the Tokyo Settlement and the areas surrounding it."_ The screen changed to a map of the Subway system running under the Shinjuku Ghettos. _"Investigate the old Subway System that runs through the Eleven residential district and the Shinjuku Ghetto. Report in the moment you spot them. Recovery of the target will be handled by us, the Royal Guard. You people bare the honorary tittle of Britannian's now but you were born Elevens! Therefor the stench of these monkeys ought to be a familiar one. If you want to earn the right to carry arms, then show some results! This is your opportunity to show your loyalty to Britannia!"_

Everyone around him joined in for a resounding "Yes, My Lord!" before the man disappeared. A hatch in the back of the transport began to open, blowing strong gusts of wind up towards them.

"Alright, go go go!" Their commander shouted over the wind and they rushed forward, grabbing hold of the cables as they began to lower.

While the others watched the ground, waiting for the moment their feet hit so that they could run off and prove themselves, Suzaku watched the sky, remembering his childhood friend, the life they had had before the invasion and all the promise they had made to each other.

But the dead couldn't change the world and he was all alone in a suicidal war.

…..

Cecil watched silently as her slightly older and much more eccentric boss laughed, as a form of greeting, in the face of the General. They had cornered the man just as he was leaving the Viceroy's Palace, where he was directing military supplies like Tanks and Knightmare Frames to where they were supposed to go. She kept her hands clasped in front of her to keep from knocking her boss upside his head for such disrespect. The man was a General for god sake and close with the Prince, and here they were distracting him from his duties and laughing in his face.

Of course, none of that would bother Lloyd. Heaven forbid he actually act like his tittle or age dictated…

The General looked rightfully confused by their presence. Doubtfully he knew who they were. They had only just arrived in Area 11 after all, under orders from Prince Schneizel, and had entered the country in as much secret as they could muster. She was pretty sure his brother, Prince Clovis, was the only person their Prince had informed of their presence.

"What… What are you doing?" the man finally asked, looking between Lloyd and herself.

Lloyd only laughed louder, still leaning towards the man like he was studying a particularly interesting specimen. "Looking at a man who blundered, what else?"

Oh… not just distracting him then, they were insulting him too it seemed.

"Why you-!"

"You really screwed the pooch. Terrorists come along an steal whatever it is you and the Prince are secretly working on; retrieving it is simple, but you want to sweep up all their compatriots in addition, kill anyone who knows about it, am I right? Let the terrorists go and you can find their hideout too." Lloyd spun to face her, his neck moving at almost an odd angle, a move that was startling even after all the years she had known him. He looked like a demented owl. A demented, murderous owl. "Congratulation, your reasoning was spot on!"

Oh great, involve her…

"Oh, it-it was nothing…" She stammered, staring at the ground shuffling her feet.

Damn it, he knew she hatted being called out like that in front of strangers! He was giving her her due right of course, she had after all been the first one to figure out what was going on here. It didn't make this any less embarrassing though, and she was pretty sure he was getting some kind of sick enjoyment out of this.

"I just thought it was strange…" she continued, her voice wavering as she looked up to see the General glaring down at her.

The man looked none too happy with her and she shrunk in spot, hoping his anger would move off her soon. It did, thankfully, and instead directed itself to Lloyd. "Okay, that's enough. What is it the Special Core wants?"

So the man did know who they were. Prince Clovis must have told him. He had probably looked into their history too. Maybe that's why he let Lloyd get away with insulting him… Not exactly surprising; they were famous. Though, not for the reasons she or the rest of the crew would have hopped for…

Lloyd turned back to the General. "I'm merely saying that I would like to assist with the clean up~"

"To… assist?"

"Correct~ Because its data I want~ Data, data, data!"

Before Lloyd could continue with his song, she cut across him and got straight to the point.

"Excuse me, but… what in the world have they just stolen anyway?"

No one was quite sure what the secret Project the General and Prince Clovis had been working on was. Even Prince Schneizel was at a loss, though he had jokingly considered that it might be a birthday present for the Emperor, he had seemed more than a bit concerned by the secrecy with which Clovis kept it under wraps. Even the Princes spies had been unable to infiltrate the ranks of this… Code-R Team.

The man hesitated for a moment, checking their surroundings before leaning in towards them. "…Chemical Weapons, or more specifically… Poison gas."

Cecil clasped a hand to her mouth. Oh god! The ramifications of something like _that_ falling into the hands of terrorists was disturbing. What if they released it? How many innocents would die this time in one of their attacks? It... It was just to horrifying to think about.

Lloyd whistled. "Well, I wouldn't want to stick around for that."

"Lloyd!" she turned back to the General. "We have to do something. Please General, allow us to help."

The man hesitated again, before finally nodding. "Alright. I will allow you to tag along to collect 'data', but you are to stay within the safe zone unless otherwise commanded by myself or my Prince, is that understood?"

Cecil nodded earnestly while Lloyd simply laughed.

…

The tunnel was illuminated by light.

Leloucia squinted, raising her hand to shield her eyes as she turned towards the source. They widened in surprise despite the watery protest they put up. Suzaku tensed at her side.

They had been so preoccupied with the unconscious girl spread out in front of them, that they had failed to pay attention to the surrounding world.

The military had found them.

10 men in all, each wearing the customary brown uniform of Clovis' Royal Guards. She never understood why Clovis, her flamboyant and artistic older brother, had chosen such plain uniforms. Even Cornelia and Schneizel had more extraordinary appearances.

Not that any of that should matter at the moment through, but it still bothered her.

"Stinking monkey! Being an Honorary Britannian will not excuse you!" The man in front snapped. From his slightly more impressive uniform to the small cape draping off his shoulder to the way he held himself, all of that spoke to his supposed importance. Not the smartest way to hide the hierarchy of the military, though she supposed that had always been Brittannia's way. Out front, bold and proud. Until of course they stabbed you in the back.

Suzaku got up, and for a moment she panicked as he left her side. She had felt safer than she had in years with him by her, even if his job dictated he take her in for treason. He still thought she was a terrorist, after all.

Seeing him now though, running back to them like an owned dog, it made her want to break something.

"I'm sorry, sir! We were told this was poison gas, but-"

"How dare you question orders!" the man snarled, grey eyes flashing with anger.

Leloucia's hand tightened on the girl's shoulders, and she felt the girl stir slightly in her lap. What the men were after had not been the poison gas Suzaku and the other Honorary Britannia soldiers had been told, but instead this girl. What her importance was though, Leloucia couldn't tell.

The straightjacket she wore seemed to mean she was a prisoner, but why the lies and why the capsule to hold her? Was she dangerous? A biological weapon perhaps? A super soldier?

Either way, Leloucia at once realised that despite the lack of gas, this situation was indeed poisonous, and that despite how bad the situation looked, she wasn't about to freely let this girl fall back into the Britannian's hands, no matter what she was.

The man, which she had concluded to be the Captain of the Royal Guards, continued. "However, in light of your outstanding military achievements, I'm going to be lenient. Private 404, take this and execute the terrorist."

Suzaku still thought she was a terrorist; she had never given the chance to explain. These men thought she was a terrorist; she would never _get_ the chance to explain.

"She's not a terrorist! She's just a civilian that got caught up in all this."

He was defending her? He thought she was a terrorist, yet he was keeping it a secret from his superiors? Maybe he wasn't as different as she thought he was…

"You insubordinate little- That's an order! Didn't you swear your loyalty and life to Britannia?!"

And there it was. He had no choice.

Either way they were dead. If he killed her then they had every right to executed him for killing a full fledged Britannia (Not to mention a Princess as they were sure to find out if they bothered to go through the proper channels to do this. If they didn't, well then her and Suzaku would share an unnamed grave here in Shinjuku, which truthfully didn't sound half bad considering the options). Either that or they would kill her themselves, place the blame of her death on him anyway, and then execute him. Or, quite possibly, they would shoot them both and never tell anybody.

I was a lose-lose situation and she could see no way out.

His choice though would interest her. The little boy she had once know wouldn't hurt her, she truly believed that. But the little boy she had once known would never have forsaken his home and join with the enemy. He had defended her, that was true, but he had obviously changed in the last 8 years since they parted…. or did he have some other reason for joining the military? She wouldn't rule out the possibility that _he_ was the terrorist.

Maybe if she revealed herself she could save them both, at least for a time. It would doom her, that was certain, but Nunnally…. Sayoko would keep her safe, she was confident in the ability of their maid. There was a reason the Ashfords had assigned her to the exiled Princess'.

As soon as there was news that Leloucia had been found, or should anyone attempt to take Nunnally, Sayoko would whisk her away to safety. Operation Alpha. Sayoko would do everything in her power to protect Nunnally.

Yes, Nunnally would be safe. And so would Suzaku.

Suzaku squared his shoulders stubbornly, and for a moment he looked just like he had all those years ago. The same stubborn boy she had fallen in love with. "Yes, but… I can't."

"What?" The man looked momentarily stunned, though it was quickly becoming replaced by anger.

"I won't do it, sir." He shook his head, turning to Leloucia with a smile so full of love and dedication that she was surprised his head didn't explode from the optimism obviously coursing through it. He thought by disobeying she would live. He had always been a fool. "I won't shoot a civilian. I can't follow your orders."

The man looked outraged to have an Eleven speaking back to him. He raised his hand and slapped Suzaku across the face, the noise of which rang out across the tunnel.

Suzaku seemed momentarily stunned by the action, which the man used to reached for his gun, ready to execute Suzaku for his disobedience.

Before he could do anything though, Leloucia made a decision that would forever change her life. "I command you to stop in my name! Under order of Leloucia vi Britannia, 3rd Princess of the Realm, you will stop!"

The man froze and the group behind him began to mutter in confusion. No one was quite sure if what they had heard was true. After all, Leloucia vi Britannia, daughter of 'The Flash' and the 98th Emperor, was supposed to be dead.

The Captain ran an eye over her. There was of course no mistaking her looks though now that she had mentioned Marianne the Flash. She was almost the spitting image of her mother, the woman famous throughout the military for her skills with a Knightmare, and the purple eyes of Royalty were nothing to scoff at.

While it was true that purple eyes weren't necessarily restricted to the Royal family, it was rare to find them outside of the line and in most cases, the person was in some way related to the Royal Family a few generations back.

Her mother had had the most beautiful shade of purple in her eyes, but as far as anyone could tell, the Lamperouge family had absolutely no relation to the Royal Family. They were commoners all the way back.

Still, purple eyes were often hailed as special by the common folk, so much so that people even went out of their way to treat people with such eyes with a bit more respect than the rest, at least until they could be assured that they were not Royalty in disguise or somehow related to the Emperor, at which point they would go back to treating the person however they pleased.

She herself only had to assure people that her sister, who's eyes were forever shut after the horror she had witnessed, had the green eyes of their father, and they usually excused them from suspicion. Though she was still hailed as the Ice Princess of Ashford, she concluded that had more to do with her personality than anything else.

"Leloucia vi Britannia is dead," the man said slowly, still running his eyes over her.

"Evidently not since I'm speaking to you here and now."

He hesitated a moment longer before reaching for his communicator and radioed in.

"This is Captain Natesie… Yes, sir, we found the target. Unfortunately, the capsule has been opened… Yes, an Honorary Britannian and…. Your Highness, we have a girl here claiming to be Leloucia vi Britannia… Yes… Yes, she appears to have been with the terrorist… Yes, sir."

The communication device was passed to her.

 _"Leloucia?"_

"Clovis."

The other end was silent for a time. It had been a long time since her brother had last spoken to her, and she had only been 10 at the time. 7 years did a lot to change someone's voice.

 _"…. How can I be sure it is truly you?"_

"Ask me a question you're sure only I would know."

He was silent for a moment as he contemplated

 _"The last time we saw each other, what book did I give you."_

"The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark." He had been adamant about her reading it, going on and on about how much he himself was like Hamlet. She never could see the resemblance.

She had taken it with her into exile though, and still had the book in fact. She had been rereading it while Rivalz was driving them to and from her mornings chess game. How far away that all felt now. It was a different time, a different life.

 _"It… It really is you…"_

He didn't sound as happy as she thought he would. Clovis had been the brother she had been closest to after Schneizel. He had been a spoiled brat and often blamed her when his pranks went wrong, but he had always been willing to play chess against her no matter how brutally he lost or let her tag along on said pranks. When he turned to art, one of his favorite subjects to paint was Aries Villa, her home, so she often saw him in her youth.

Speaking to him again now brought up many emotions she had tried to suppress, such as homesickness. She almost allowed herself to wish for a simpler time when she was young and naïve, her mother alive and her sister well.

Of course, there was no going back though, so such thoughts weren't worth even entertaining.

 _"Were the terrorist holding you hostage?"_

She sighed. "No, this is just one big misunderstanding. I merely stumbled upon this by accident while attempting to help what I thought was a drunk driver, at which point I fell into the back of this truck and was attacked by the military."

She could tell he didn't believe her. Hell, she wouldn't have believed her.

For some reason this girl was special too Clovis. She was being kept a secret from the rest of the military, and these men had obviously been ordered to kill anyone who found out about her. Clovis probably planned to use her to secure the throne.

Leloucia's money was on super soldier, some kind of genetically manipulated human that the terrorists wanted on their side (unless they were still under the impression that it was poison gas?). Now that she knew, she was a liability. An expendable liability. No one would miss a Princess who was already dead.

"I assume my word isn't enough to convince you that I would keep this a secret, is it?"

The line was silent.

"No. I suppose that is to be expected."

 _"You understand, don't you, Leloucia? Why I have to do this?"_

He was pleading with her, pleading with her to understand why he had to kill her. She could have laughed.

"Yes, Clovis. I understand why you have to kill your own blood, because their an / inconvenience/ to you. I hope that throne of yours can buy you a guilt free conscious," she hissed, and without letting him attempt to argue, she tossed the phone back to the feet of the soldiers. "Kill me if you must. Do as your _master_ commands you."

One of the men bent and picked it up, handing it back to the Captain who listened in silence to the Princes command. "Yes, Your Highness."

He didn't even need to singled to his men, they raised their guns, no questions asked.

No one would stand up for her. She was alone, utterly and completely alone, just like she had always been, just like she always would be.

Suzaku took a stance in front of her, placing himself between her and the men.

No… She wasn't alone. She had Suzaku, and Nunnally, and Sayoko, and the Student Council. It was a small group, but it was her group. And she was thankful for it. Despite her short time on earth, she felt she had almost known true happiness. If things had been different, if her mother hadn't been killed, if Britannia wasn't the despicable place it was, if it hadn't invaded Japan… if Suzaku hadn't joined the military…. then she wished… she wished they could have gone to Ashford together. He would have liked it there; she was sure of it.

She stood up then, wanting to face death on her feet beside her friend. They would face this together.

The Captain raised a hand, singling the men to lower their weapons with an almost sadistic smile. "I will do this myself. No need to waist bullets."

Revealing herself had been a mistake. Clovis knew about her survival now, he would come to the conclusion that Nunnally was alive as well. He wasn't smart, but he wasn't stupid either. There would be a man hunt, much like there had been at the end of the war, and they would find Nunnally. Sayoko and the Ashfords could only protect her for so long, sooner or later someone would find her.

She had failed Nunnally, a thought that terrified her more than facing her own death.

 _Nunnally…. Nunnally…_

The Captain stepped in front of Suzaku first.

She took Suzaku's hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. They were both shaking with fear now. He gave her hand a squeeze back just as the man pushed the gun between the protective plates of his uniform and fired.

Suzaku crumbled to the floor.

She heard herself scream his name, gripped his hand tighter as it threatened to fall away from her, saw herself reach out for his body, but it felt like those actions belong to a different person.

She felt nothing. Her whole body had gone numb, blood pounding in her ears.

Her eyes moved on their own, away from the two bodies at her feet. She could see the Captain's mouth moving as he turned his gun to her, but his words were like a distant hum. The gun jerked back slightly in his hands but there was no sound. No feeling. Just numb.

She knew what was happening, but her mind refused to accept it.

Suzaku had just been shot ( _Why wasn't he moving?)_. She had just been shot ( _Why was she falling?_ ). She was dying ( _Why were the Royal Guards coming towards them?_ ). Her brother had killed her, just like he had killed her mother, just like he would kill Nunnally ( _What happened to that green haired girl?_ ).

Leloucia was thrown forward by some unseen force; light licked at the walls around them and though she couldn't tell why, her back began to tingled.

Large chunks of the road above began to rain down as the world around her spun. She could tell it was the road even in her haze. Everything would have been over quicker had they been under a building.

She watched as the Royal Guards staggered and ran, a few getting struck by the crumbling ceiling and falling motionless a few feet from her.

She had been shot.

( _She was dying._ )

Suzaku had been shot.

( _He was dying or dead, she couldn't tell._ )

Her brother had betrayed her.

( _He would pay._ )

The last thing she thought before the world went dark around her was to hope that the rest of the Royal Guards got buried beneath the rocks along with them.

...

A/N: So this started out as one giant story which got split into three different ones. Code Draco is one, this is the second and the third is still being worked out. As such, you might notice some similarities between Code Draco and this one (if you've even read my other story that is lol). I did tried to change some things up, but... well, lets just say I was a bit too lazy to try and rewrite a lot of the scenes I was already happy with lol. It shouldn't continue to be similar, just this beginning stuff before it splits off into its own story, but I do apologize if you're reading this and keep seeing Code Draco (I also apologize for being away from Code Draco for so long. Life got in the way and this story kept begging to be written. I'll hopefully get back to Code Draco soon and be updating both of these when I can, providing life can keep the curve balls to a minimum.)

Now onto this story. So I'm not as happy as I want to be with this beginning stuff, but I've been holding onto this one for so long trying to get it right that I figured I might as well let it out into the world and see what other people thought of it (if you have any constructive criticism for it, it would be much appreciated). Basically this is one of those Butterfly Effect stories where one small thing changes everything (such as if Leloucia were to reveal herself in an attempt to save both her and Suzaku). I don't want to spoil to much though so I'll shut up for now.

Anyway, thanks for reading this far lol and please leave a review if you can :)


	2. Chapter 2

"They got away!? And you call yourself the Royal Guard!?"

Bartley was livid, spit spraying as he shouted.

From what the Royal Guards had told him, the Capsule had been opened. And if that was the case, then she was free and she could tell the world what they had done to her!

No, no if she did that, she would be exposing herself… What if she came to find them to extract revenge!?

 _"F-Forgive me, My Lord. The blast was mainly directed upwards, but the-"_

Complete and utter terror had seized Bartley. The thought of that… that _creature_ coming after them made him quake in his boots. "Why the hell do you think I only told you people about this!?" And now others knew about her too. What if they used her against them? An immortal warrior…

The Royal Guards had seen her now, and who knew who else by now. Bartley didn't like it, but they would have to be killed. There was no way they could let that information just hang around without repercussions!

 _"W-We'll continue the investigation."_

"The plan has moved forward to the next phase."

Bartley turned. If the thought of the immortal coming after him had scared him, the anger of his Prince was all that much worse. He would be humiliated, disgraced and killed. Everything he had worked so hard for, gone in an instant.

The only thing that girl could do was torture and kill him. His Highness would destroy everything about him.

Clovis sat on a throne, raised just above the commanders table, surveying the scene like the Royal he was. In his rush to re-secure the girl, he hadn't even changed bothered to change out of his party clothes. He knew the importance of this to well to waste time.

The phone call he had recently received from the Royal Guard had put him into a bad mood, though Bartley hadn't been privied to the conversation. He just hopped nothing had gone wrong with the girl.

"B-But Your Highness-"

"If knowledge of her get's out, I'll be disinherited," Clovis snapped, making the tough decision Bartley himself was too weak to make. That was why his Prince was the Viceroy. "Tell them back home we're carrying out a planned Urban Renewal here." He stood then, clicking his heels together and taking his most impressive stance. "As Clovis, 3rd Prince of the Empire, I command you, destroy Shinjuku Ghetto! Leave no one alive!"

Bartley whipped around, eyes wide with terror, and leaned towards the com system. "Attention all Forces! The enemy is garbage that can never hope to become even Honorary Britannians!" He commanded. "Wipe out ever last one of them!"

…

 _*You don't want it to end here, do you?*_

Leloucia felt like she was floating.

All around her was darkness, nothing but darkness. She couldn't tell where the darkness started and she began. She couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down, or see any kind of horizon. She felt like she was part of it, the darkness, like her body no longer existed, but that was impossible.

She tried to move, move any part of her, bring her hand in front of her face, something, but nothing happened. She couldn't see; she couldn't feel. There was nothing.

Was this what death was like?

No, she couldn't be dead. She needed more time, there was sill so much she had to do. For herself, for Suzaku, for Nunally! She needed more time, she _wanted_ more time!

 _*You appear to have a reason for living*_

The image of a familiar green haired and golden eyed girl appeared before her, staring at Leloucia like she could see into her very soul.

 _The girl?_ Leloucia wondered vaguely. _Impossible…_

If it weren't for the fact that the girl's expression changed ever so often and the fact that she was completely naked, Leloucia would have concluded that what she was seeing were her last moments. As it was though, seeing as she had never even met the girl before today, to be seeing her naked like this and with any other expression besides a drugged haze, meant that-

The girl disappeared; replaced by a tunnel of light, and Leloucia momentarily forgot to think at the beauty of it.

She felt both warm and cold at the same time. Both weak and very strong. Both intelligent and very, very stupid.

 _*If I grant you power, could you go on?*_

The voice was soothing and otherworldly. She wasn't sure if it belonged to the green haired girl, but she had a feeling due to her presence in this strange…. world, that it was.

 _*I propose a deal. In exchange for this power, you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contact and you accept its conditions.*_

 _Conditions? What kind of conditions?_

Two giant orbs faced one another. One looked to be some sort of high-tech sphere with lights and moving parts, whole the other was made completely of smooth stone.

She didn't understand what it meant, only that she knew life existed on both. She didn't know how she knew or how it was possible; she could just feel it.

 _*While living in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other. A different providence. A different time. A different life.*_

Images flashed in front of her eyes. A sigil carved in stone. Small children in ceremonial cloth all standing in rows. Jupiter.

 _*The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?*_

She saw her father. His back was to her but there was no mistaking the formable figure before her.

 _"A convergence with the Ragnarök Connection? So the myth is beginning once again!"_

Anger built in her none existent body.

He turned, his eyes finding hers. Purple staring into purple. _"My errant daughter. So, it is you who will usher in this new age?"_

 _"No! Whatever you're planning, whatever you do, I will not stop until I see you dead!"_ She lifted her gaze to the heavens. _"I accept the contract! Do you hear me! I accept!"_

The voice chuckled. _*Good, then live, Leloucia. Live!*_

…..

Leloucia strained for air as she came too, hacking up the dust that coated her lungs. A dull throb of pain emanated from her side, but it was easily ignored in favour of the dirt scratching at her throat.

A glass of water was presented to her and she greedily drank from it without thought.

It wasn't until she was done the drink, her throat soothed for the time being, that she looked to the person who had given it to her.

A blue haired woman was seated beside her bed, worry etched into her face, her uniform a familiar muted orange.

Military. This woman was a soldier then. What was she doing taking care of Leloucia? Unless….

She sat up in a panic only to once again dissolve into a fit of coughs. The dull throb returned, forcing her back down.

"We gave you something to sooth the pain, but you should be careful when you move. You don't want to reopen the wound," the woman explained, placing a gentle yet firm hand on her shoulder to keep her from rising once again.

 _Wound? What wound?_

The woman blinked at the confused look on her face. "You were shot; don't you remember?"

"Shot?" Her voice was strained, foreign even to her ears.

The woman nodded. "In the abdomen. The doctors were able to patch you up rather well. All you need to do now is get plenty of rest and allow your body to do the rest of the work."

Leloucia looked down at herself.

Her top was missing, replaced instead by tightly wrapped bandages, the left side of which was beginning to turn a pinkish colour as it soaked up the blood that continued to seep.

"You had us worried for a bit. You had lost so much blood we feared we wouldn't be able to revive you."

A rolling tray of medical equipment had been pushed off to the side, equipment she gaged that had once been inside her in an attempt to save her life, organized in meticulous fashion. A box of gloves and surgical masks sat beside it, though lain out in a less organized fashion.

The room was white, clean, sterile, and small. From the sounds outside, the men and woman shouting orders and the shaking of military equipment being moved, she gaged they were still in the Ghettos, possibly off in a designated safe zone, in what appeared to be a mobile medical van.

It was coming back to her, although slowly, as she swept her gaze around the place. She had been shot, that was right, under order of her brother. He would keep it a secret from the military of course, so her identity was safe for now, but how had she escaped?

Her gaze almost passed by the familiar figure laying on the cot across from her as she examined her surroundings.

"Suzaku!"

She once more pushed herself up, struggling against the pain and attempting to hobble over to his side.

The woman moved with her, to force her back down or to help her, she didn't know, but Leloucia pushed her away nonetheless. She would not allow anyone to keep her from Suzaku, and she definitely didn't need help from the military.

She knelt awkwardly at his side, the pain pills dulling but not completely removed the pain. If anything, it was just her senses that had been deadened, her mind having a hard time working out if the pain was real or not.

He looked pale, though not dangerously so. Then again, she was no doctor. For all she knew he could be at deaths door.

She smoothed the bangs away from his head, and breathed out a sigh of relief at the way his chest rose and fell in a seemingly healthy rhythm. His chest was wrapped like hers, though they appeared to have been changed recently, or possible he wasn't bleeding as heavily as her. Despite going past the protective plates, the wire mesh of his suit must have done its job.

With or without the suit though, there was still the fact that he had had sacrificed himself for her. She wasn't sure what he had been thinking when he disobeyed his superiors, but she knew it had been in an attempt to save her from the same fate. A foolish, stupid attempt, but an attempt nonetheless.

And then to stand in front of her as the Prince he served ordered her death…

Either way, he had risked his life for hers, and now he lay near death. She owed him her life, not for the first time since they had met.

She brushed her lips against his forehead in a quick, almost none existent kiss. His breath seemed to stutter for a moment before it returned too normal.

"Thank you, Suzaku."

The woman shifted behind her. Leloucia glanced back to find her face had turned pink and she was looking anywhere but at Leloucia and Suzaku. Either the physical contact had embarrassed her, or the fact that he was an Eleven and she a Britannian. Either way it didn't matter, the woman's opinions were of little concern to her.

Leloucia stood up, moving back to her own cot and redonning the tattered remains of her yellow jacket that had been lain out on a separate cot, obviously ready for disposal. It was stained with her own blood and torn in places from where they had cut it off her (and were those burn marks?), but she felt safer with it on, less exposed.

She refrained from asking about the green haired girl, fearing this woman might known more than she let on. Either the girl had gotten away, or she had been recaptured by Clovis. In the end, there was little Leloucia could do.

"Where are we?"

The woman, her gaze returning to Leloucia, gave her a sympathetic look. Leloucia almost snapped at her. "We're still in the Shinjuku Ghetto's I'm afraid. But we're close enough to Prince Clovis' personal convoy that we'll be safe, you don't have to worry."

Leloucia nodded, though fear did momentarily fill her at the thought of being so close to her brother. Good. She would be paying her brother a visit soon anyway.

"We found you with a few of Clovis' Royal Guards and that boy." The woman continued to explain, giving Suzaku an equally sympathetic look. Leloucia could only take it as another insult. Elevens. They were lesser. They deserved our sympathy. Just another form of racism, albe, a less violent one. "It was a suicide bomb. Looks as though the one who took you hostage set it off."

Ah, so the driver had sacrificed himself in an attempt to take out some Britannian's, that would explain what had happened to him. She figured he had fled as soon as it became clear the truck would no longer move. That would also explain the flames she had seen and the burn marks on her jacket.

The military though seemed to have a much kinder view of her involvement than Suzaku or the Royal Guards had though. Hostage, that was their conclusion. She was only there because she was being held hostage. It seemed Lady Luck was finally on her side.

"It looks like the poison gas had been moved as well, though it was just recently released. A lot of Elevens have been killed. They haven't caught the perpetrators yet."

Leloucia narrowed her eyes. The woman was lying to her. Mass Eleven casualties? The military was killing innocent people, weren't they, because they were in the way…

 _"I have no use for the weak. You are dead. You have been dead since the day you were born."_

She was sick to death of the corrupt in this world. Sick to death of herself just sitting there, allowing it to go on. She was sick of the lying, of the death, of the betrayal.

 _"Leloucia, a dead person like you has no rights and so you will go to Japan with your sister. As Princess', you will make good trading material. Now, be gone from my sight."_

Something stirred in her. A power she had never felt before coursed through her body. She felt drunk on it; intoxicated on the high.

She could order this woman to kill herself, or make her will bend to her own. It would be so simple, so, elegant, so… _ironic_.

"You, soldier." The woman turned to her, light blue eyes finding Leloucia's. "I-"

Before she could finish her order, a pale man burst through the door with a grin and a laugh. "Good morning~ How did you sleep? Well rested I hope!"

"Lloyd!" the woman chided, turning away from Leloucia, missing the look of annoyance that had passed over the girl's face. "A bit more sympathy, please."

Leloucia started and the power faded. She recognized this man. Earl Asplund, an acquaintance of her late Mother. That meant…

"Well, my dear little Gear, it seems you've had quite the day, hmm?"

What came off as just an odd term to refer to her as, meant so much more to Leloucia. That had been his nickname for her in her younger years, his absolutely infuriating nickname for her.

There was no denying that he recognized her.

"Earl of Pudding, it's been to long." Her smile was strained, but she hopped his respect of her mother would at least aid her in keeping his silence.

The woman looked between them in confusion.

Lloyd leaned forward. "When we found you, I almost didn't believe my eyes." He was grinning like a demented owl while Leloucia had a hard time keeping her anger in check. "I guess you're a lucky one though, you and that boy."

He looked past her to Suzaku, but she never took her eyes off him, narrowing them in warning. "Earl Asplund, I command you to do everything in your power to help him, do you understand?"

Both Lloyd and the woman blinked in surprise, before Lloyd threw his head back and laughed.

"My, you always were the demanding one, weren't you? No more than your sister, of course."

That was it. She snapped. "Lloyd! Do I make myself clear?"

"As you command, Princess~" Without taking his eyes off her, Lloyd turned to the blue haired woman. "Will you check on Lancelot, Cecile? I get the feeling we'll be needed soon~"

"But Lloyd-"

"Chop chop, dearie! We can't keep the Prince waiting~"

The woman gave Lloyd and Leloucia one last, rather confused look before nodding and stepping out of the building, leaving her, Lloyd and a blissfully unaware Suzaku, alone.

There was only one thought in her mind now that the other obstacles were out of the way. He _knew_.

"So, my little Gear, this is rather exciting news, don't you think?" His smile was as cold as the rest, but she still shivered in fear. He would tell someone, use her to gain something. He wouldn't care. He had never cared.

Power swelled in her.

"Tell no one of my true identity, Lord Asplund." She commanded, and she knew he would follow it.

Geass, that was what whispered in her mind. Her power, the Power of the Kings. She could command anyone to do whatever she pleased.

A large grin spread across her face, and she nearly laughed in the Earl of Puddings face. Yes, this tool would be useful.

She left him then, staring blankly at the wall, and grabbed one of the lab coats from its hook, putting it over her tattered jacket and covering her face with a surgical mask before stepping out into the afternoon sun.

A _very_ useful tool.

…..

Clovis was to well guarded.

She had scouted out the perimeters of the mobile command base and had found no way through. At every station stood soldiers and Knightmare to block her path, to deny her. She was at the last line of defence between her and Clovis and she couldn't move past it.

Which meant she needed to backtrack. Just perfect.

The medical convoys which she had found herself in now lay behind her as she attempted to blend in with the rest of the people scurrying about. She quickly entered the tail end of a group of doctors as they cut a path across the secured area, and silently prayed they passed her far shorter stature as simply genetics rather than due to her age.

Off to the left, makeshift shelters had been set up, inside of which Knights and their frames were able to recharge and restock. She had no problem slipping away from the group and into one of these shelter without notice.

Unfortunately, she wasn't alone. Due to the lack of service people scurrying around it, she had assumed the shelter unoccupied, but it looked as though a woman Knight had returned alone and, not needing much besides rounds, had been left to her own devices.

She recognized the red shoulder plates on the side of the frame long before she would be able to place the woman.

She wanted to make the woman pay.

 _Do it._

It didn't take long for the Knight to realise someone else had enter the shelter though.

"Yes? Can I do something for you?" she asked, gazing down at Leloucia from her platform in confusion, mistaking her for one of the doctors running about.

"I order you to come down from there!" Leloucia called up, felling her power stir again.

The woman froze and Leloucia smirked.

Good, now then, all she would need to do was-

"Who the hell do you think you are to order me around?!"

What? It hadn't worked?... There must be a range limit on it, or a recharge time, or… No…

The woman lifted the gun at her hip and pointed it at Leloucia. "Who are you? You don't sound old enough to be a doctor. Remove your mask!"

This wasn't good. What had she been thinking, believing in invisible magic? She must have lost to much blood, or she was delirious from the pain medication. Whatever had convinced her she had a supernatural power called Geass?

The woman was beginning to descend the stairs. "Are you deaf?! Answer me!"

What was she doing? She should have just run. Why didn't she just keep quiet?

 _Do it._

Leloucia wasn't sure what possessed her to do it, but she raised her hands and pulled the surgical mask down. "My name is Alexia Spacer. My father's a Duke." She let out a fake laugh. "I seem to have gotten myself into a bit of a mess. I wanted to see what the Ghetto's were like but then the military showed up. My ID cards in my breast pocket if that helps. After you confirm who I am, I'll request your protection."

No soldier, let alone a Knight, would refuse such a thing. Is she was real Nobility, ignoring her request could mean termination of rank, or even life.

The woman hesitated at the base of the stairs, the gun falling slightly so that it was pointed at the ground.

 _Do it. Do it!_

"Why are you wearing a medical coat?"

She gave her best impression of embarrassment. "It was how I snuck away from my father." The word felt filthy in her mouth. "We were visiting my mother in the hospital before this, so I grabbed the first thing I could and snuck out. Here, I'll get my ID f-"

"Keep your hands in the air!" the woman demanded, the gun once more rose to point at Leloucia. "I'll take out your ID."

Leloucia kept herself from smirking and returned her hands to the air.

The woman moved closer, gun still trained on Leloucia as she reached out for the pocket of her yellow Ashford jacket.

There was no turning back now.

 _Do it, do it, do it, do it!_

Up closer, Leloucia could clearly see the woman's dark skin, pale blue hair and yellow eyes, all of which gave away her name. Villetta Nu. A Knight, but not of Nobel blood. Yet she was a persistent member of the Purist Faction, the red shoulder guards of which her Knightmare wore.

She detested the woman.

 _Do it! Do it now!_

"There's no ID in your pocket," Villetta Nu growled, and Leloucia felt the gun press into her side.

Something akin to giddy filled her and she burst out laughing, startling the woman so much she nearly put another hole in Leloucia. The power surged in her once more and she watched as it took hold. Red encircled the Knights eyes. "Hand your Kinghtmare over to me."

There was a moment when Leloucia almost feared nothing had happened, that she really had been duped by the pain meds and her arrogance was about to get her killed, before the woman took a step back and holstered her gun.

"Understood." She handed over a small, thin activation key from off her wrist. "The authentication code is XG21G2D4."

A thrill went through her. It was real. Her power, it was _real_.

The woman, she had done exactly what Leloucia told her to do. Leloucia had twisted her will and bent her to her own.

The thought was both sickening and exhilarating.

She couldn't help but smirked though as she took the key from the woman and, without a word, moved past her, ascending the stairs to enter the Knightmare.

She was almost completely out of her element the moment she took a seat. The Sutherland was far more complicated than the Ganymede she was used too. So many buttons and levers.

It didn't take long though for certain things to beginning to make sense. The joysticks were similar to the Ganymede, although slicker and easier to reach. The start button was lower down, now closer to her feet than straight in front of her, and the activation key no longer got in her face when she leaned over the controls. The Slash Harken buttons were in the same place as always, on top of the joysticks, and the screen, though smaller, clearly displayed her places as well as every other Britannian Knightmare in the vicinity.

It looked like they had made an encirclement around most of the Ghetto's to trap the terrorist in. The terrorist were probably on their last leg by now, it was a miracle they had made it even this far.

A small red dot could be seen zig zagging its way across the battle field, being chased by two Britannian Units. The red Glasgow, she was hedged in here too, just like the rest of her team. She seemed to purposely be avoiding the upper east section of the map though, something it appeared Clovis hadn't noticed at all.

Perfect.

Already Clovis, or should she say his Staff Officers, strategy was clear. Her brother had never been one for the more delicate of strategies and it appeared neither were his men. This would be easy pickings.

All she needed now was an army.

...

Update: Error's have been made and error's have been fixed! (hopefully... most of them... some of them... at least one of them)


	3. Chapter 3

_*You don't want her to die, do you?*_

Suzaku couldn't tell where the voice was coming from, but he felt very comfortable. Death was a lot nicer than he had expected. Beautiful colours flashed by him and he felt warm and safe, so unlike when he had been alive.

 _*She'll die, Suzaku. You need to wake up*_

He frowned. Wake up? Wake up from what? Who's was going to die?

 _*Remember your promise. Remember…*_

It came back to him in a rush, like someone had sparked his mind to life. Pictures of his life began to flash before his eyes. He watched a younger version of himself catching frogs at the Kururugi Shrine; his maid Fumiko running after him as he raced around the Shrine naked as the day he was born and covered in mud as he attempted to avoid bath time; his time spent playing house with his cousin Kaguya and being bored out of his mind. He remembered the moment when Leloucia and Nunnally first came into his life, how he'd hatted them, the Britannian scum and their spoiled attitudes. He had hatted that there were now more children at the Shrine, thinking that people would pay less attention to him. He had been half right as the Princess became more spectacle than guest. He remembered the day he had found out about their past, the day Nunnally had gone missing, and how it had made him cry. He remembered making her a promise that he would always protect them, and how from then on they had been inseparable. He remembered killing his father to protect them and the moment they drove away from him, taken somewhere that promised to be safe, somewhere far away from him. He remembered the day he had decided to join the Britannian military and how the remaining members of his family who hadn't abandoned him after what he had done to his father, finally left.

Most importantly, he remembered what had happened mere seconds before. He had been shot. Shot trying and failing to protect Leloucia.

Anger and guilt shot through him. He had promised her!

He struggled against nothing, desperate to find a way back to the world of the living.

The voice returned.

 _*You can't save her as you are now. But I can offer you power, the power to save her and everyone you hold dear. The power to save Japan*_

He stopped struggling.

 _*If I grant you power, you must agree to make my one wish come true though. Accept this contact and you accept its conditions.*_

The scenery changed. No longer was he in a tunnel of light, nor was he watching his past, now he seemed to be floating through space, two large planet like objects floating before him

 _*While living in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other. A different providence. A different time. A different life.*_

Images began to play again before his minds eye, except this time, they weren't his memories. A symbol like a bird carved in stone. Small children standing in rows, each with the same bird like symbol on their forehead. A large planet.

 _*The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude, and one day you might have to die for your Princess' and your goals. Are you prepared for this?*_

His goal had always been to protect Leloucia and Nunnally, create a better world for them where they could be happy and hopefully save Japan in the process. He knew if he every found them again he would swear himself as their Knight. Even without a claim to the throne, he would serve the Princess' he held so dear. Even if it meant putting his goals for Japan aside, they were more important. They had always been more important.

 _"I accept! Please, I accept!"_

The voice chuckled. _*I feel that you will be interesting.*_

…

The room was a blur.

There was a pounding pressure in his head and a whisper from a dream. He struggled for a bit to remember what his dream had been about, but it was just out of reach.

Ah well, it wouldn't have been important anyway. What was though was figuring out where he was and why he felt so… so…. fuzzy?

"So, are we having a bad day are we?" a bespectacled man suddenly popped his head into Suzaku's vision. "Looks like you missed a chance to go to Heaven, Private Kururugi!"

With a yelp, he shot up, only to fall back as pain shot through him.

"Please, calm down, Mister Suzaku! It's alright. You're safe now."

He turned to find a blue haired woman beside him in formal military wear. She had placed a hand on his shoulder in worry when he fell back, and now gave him a reassuring squeeze and a smile when he looked at her.

"Wh-…. I did?" He struggled to sit up once again, gratefully thanking the woman for her help when she places a hand on his back to guide him, and did his best to ignore the pain. "Where am I?"

"Ah, we're still in the Shinjuku Ghetto." The bespectacled man exclaimed, spinning around in a manner that was more akin to a child than to a doctor. "I'll say, it's lucky we found you. They were dragging bodies out of the rubble but somehow you survived~"

 _Leloucia…_

"With Prince Clovis close by, this is probably the safest place anywhere," the woman assured, mistaking his concern for worry about himself.

"Were… Were there two girls, Britannnian girls, there as well?"

They both looked at each other, the man with a shrug and the woman with a scowl.

The blue haired soldier turned back to him. "Only one. But she left awhile ago." She sent another glare back at the man.

"Hey, I tried to stop her," the man shrugged with a smile. "But she was determined. Quite the girlfriend you've got their, Private Kururugi."

From the look in his eyes, he knew something Suzaku didn't.

A blush coloured both his and the female soldiers faces.

"She-She's not…! We're not… I-"

"Oh you don't have to explain yourself to me!" the man laughed. "Young love is crazy, after all~"

Suzaku shut his mouth, knowing he would only start sputtering nonsense again if he tried to argue. Leloucia was his best friend and had been his not-so-secret crush when they were younger. Seeing her again, much older and far more beautiful than he remember, had re-stirred those feelings in him, but there hadn't been much time to dwell on them before now.

Of course, allowing such a thing to be said of an Eleven and a Britannian was sure to be met with anger and disproval. Despite the man laughing it off, he had no clue how either he or the woman would react if they knew he did harbour feelings for Leloucia.

"Was there a second girl there as well, Mister Suzaku?" the woman questioned, breaking the tension.

"Oh, ah… Maybe not?" He shook his head and gave the woman a small smile. "I, uh, I did hit my head after all. I must just be confused."

He had never been very good at lying, but the woman seemed to believe him. She gave him an understanding look and moved to place a hand on his before she thought better of it and simply folded it into her lap.

"Oh that's right, I have something for you~" the man turned around, practically skipping from the vehicle, leaving Suzaku and the soldier alone.

For a moment there was nothing but silence, before the woman spoke up. "She was very affectionate of you." She laughed lightly. "She actually commanded us to do everything in our power to make sure you got better."

Despite the mess, Suzaku found himself smiling. That sounded just like her, still ordering people around despite having no claim to power.

The man arrived back almost as quickly as he left. "Here's what saved your life, Private Kururugi."

He presented Suzaku with the object in his hands.

"You're lucky it was under your protective suit because that's what deflected the bullet."

"Is it a keepsake?" the woman questioned.

"Yeah…" Suzaku reached out, taking the broken pocket watch from him.

It had been his fathers. The only thing he had been able to keep after he had been kicked out by the rest of his family.

"You Elevens believe that Gods live inside of everything, even objects, don't you? I guess this one saved you~"

His hand tightened around the watch. _Father_.

He looked up at the soldier and man with renewed determination. He had been given a second chance at life, and he wasn't about to let it go to waste. He had to find Leloucia, and that green haired girl. "What's the latest on the situation?"

The man sighed, shaking his head in a less than sorrowful way. "It looks like the Poison Gas was released. Massive Eleven casualties have been reported."

But… the Poison Gas was a lie, wasn't it? So what, or who, was killing all those people?

"They haven't caught the perpetrator yet," the woman added.

"They haven't…"

What had happened after he blacked out? How had Leloucia escaped the Royal Guards? Had she gotten them out of there somehow?

"Private Kururugi. How much experience do you have with Knightmares?"

Suzaku looked up in confusion as the bespectacled man stared at him. He shook his head. "Not much. I've done some simulations before but… Numbers aren't allowed to become Knights."

It was more an unspoken rule than a written one. On paper, so long as a Number was suitable, he or she was to be given the chance to piolet a Knightmare. Unfortunately, the simulators were often rigged when a Number stepped into them, never allowing a victory.

"Well, supposing you were allowed. Would you want one?" The man dangled a gold Activation Key in front of Suzaku's face as though to taunt him.

His eyes widened, unable to believe his ears. It had always been a dream of his, to become a Knight. To show the Britannia's that even Numbers could be of use. To work his way up to the top from the inside.

He had tried so many times in the simulator, attempting to beat the unbeatable. He never won, but each time he felt he had come closer and closer. He knew if he kept trying they would see his merit. They couldn't excuse hard work forever.

"O-Of course!"

The man clapped him on the back, causing him to dissolved into a fit of coughs. "Congratulations! The only Knightmare of its kind awaits you! Once you take the controls of this big beauty, everything will change~ You and your world!"

"Whether you want it to or not," the woman nodded, handing him a glass of water.

He couldn't keep the grin off his face even as he drank. An Eleven piloting a Knightmare. What had the world come to?

….

"Those damn Britannian's!" Kallen shouted, urging the Glasgow after her fleeing people as she shot Slash Harkens after the tanks that stalked them. The pace was slow, but she was making headway. If she could just get this group to the edges of Shinjuku, maybe they could slip by and get out of here…

The Glasgow's old radio flared to life.

 _"Kallen! Can the Glasgow still move?"_

"Don't worry, Oigh!" She shouted back, to overwhelmed with anger and grief to keep her voice at a normal volume. "It's alright, I'll decoy them. Just get the people out of here! The only ones who will be captured are us in the resistance!"

 _"I know, but we're trapped! They've got us completely surrounded."_

The unspoken question hung in the air. Was this it? Was this the end? How would they get out of this?

 _"Don't worry, Kallen. If it comes to it, you can pretend you're just a Britannian civilian who got caught up in all this. They'll believe you."_

"No, Oghi! I'll go down with the rest of you, I swear!"

 _"Kallen…. You have to live, for Naoto's sake…"_

The tears began to fall freely, her body shaking. She quickly whipped them, screaming in anger as she attacked another tank.

Naoto, her brother. He had died to get them the information on the poison gas, and now they were about to die here without achieving his goal.

Damn it, if only they could…!

….

Shirley opened her locker with a sigh. She had been distracted during practise and had lagged behind her teammates, finishing with her worst time yet.

 _Damn it Leloucia, where are you?_

Rivalz had returned to school alone, complaining that Leloucia had run off somewhere and he had been unable to find her. Rather than being worried though, he had simply passed it off as Leloucia being Leloucia.

"Probably has another match and she just didn't want to split the profits with me. Or maybe she just didn't want to help me push the bike all the way back to school!" the blue haired boy had huffed and puffed as he pushed his bike into the school's garage. If he hadn't been so exhausted from the long trek back, Shirley was sure he would have shown more concerned.

As it was though, no one else seemed to share her worry.

She was just considering trying to phone the girl again, when her phone rang. 'Lulu' flashed on the screen and she nearly dropped it in her haste to answer.

"Lulu? What in the world have you been doing? You missed the Student Council meeting! Where are you? If you keep cutting class, you'll get held back! You can't-"

 _"Are you near a T.V_.?" Without even a how do you do or an answer to her question, Leloucia interrupted her.

Shirley frowned. "A T.V.?"

 _"Yes, Shirley, A T.V… Sorry, but this is important."_

She wasn't too happy with her friend's tone, but she turned around anyway.

"Hmph…. Hang on." She walked over to Rachel, Monica and Tera, all three of which were watching the comedy channel on Tera's small, portable television. "Hey, mind if I change the channel for a moment?"

Rachel looked up at her in confusion. "Huh? To what?"

 _"The News please, Shirley. Is there anything about Shinjuku?"_

She leaned past Rachel, whispering a small sorry before she began to switch through the channels. "News? Well let's see…. No, there's nothing on about Shinjuku. Traffic restrictions?"

Was Leloucia stuck in the traffic? Was that what was taking her so long?

 _"Why is it restricted?"_

She frowned. "I don't know. There not saying."

For a long time Leloucia was silent, so silent in fact that Shirley thought she might have hung up on her if it wasn't for the fact that she could still hear something in the background of Lelocuia's call. What was that? Sounded like… vehicles? Maybe… coins?

"Oh you're gambling again, aren't you!?" she suddenly realised, nearly banging into Rachel as she straightened up. "I've warned you before, more that once, how dangerous that is!"

Leloucia gave her a small, unusual laugh. _"Yep, you caught me. By the way, tell my little sister that I'm going to be home late tonight, would you? Thanks."_ She hung up before Shirley could argue.

Stamping her foot, Shirley tore the phone from her ear. "That jerk! She hung up on me!"

She pressed redial, ready to give Leloucia a piece of her mind, but was only greeted by a robotic voice informing her that the number she was trying to reach was out of range.

Well that was strange… If Leloucia was out of range, how had she called Shirley in the first place?

She sighed again, muttering to herself under her breath about how annoying Leloucia could be, before ultimately packing her bags and heading off to Leloucia and Nunnally's house to deliver the message.

….

 _"Lord Jeremiah. We have an incoming supply train on track B-36."_

That made Jeremiah pause. He had thought most operations would have been shut down by now in an attempt to seal the terrorists in. "Hmm? Did no one tell them we were doing operations here?"

 _"It… appears not, My Lord. We attempted to warn them, but they didn't respond when we raised them on the radio. Should we go after them?"_

The trains, traffic, tours, cellphones, all such things should have been shut down the moment they made their move into the Ghettos. If the train was still running, then what else could still be working?

Was it possible the worthless waste of Royal genetics had forgotten?

Jeremiah usually wasn't one to insult the Royal Family, but after years under Clovis li Britannia, his patience had worn thin with that particular Royal. The boy cared more for parties, fashion shows and shopping than he did for the Area he ruled over.

It was all the much better for the Purist Faction of course, but the incompetence of this particular Royal did not bode well with Jeremiah.

He was nothing like what a true Royal should be. Nothing like how his Empress had been.

Either way though, it wasn't his place to say. He could not express his dislike of Clovis publicly for fear of facing repercussions. All he could do was work from the shadows and do what he could to make Area 11 a safer place for his people.

Ah well, that was neither here not there. At the moment, he was in the midst of battle and couldn't be more thrilled.

"Yes. Attempt to raise them again and if there is still no response, stop them with force."

It was always possible that this train was connected to the terrorist. The fact that they hadn't responded to the militaries radio call meant either their equipment was faulty, or they were purposely ignoring them, in which case-

A helicopter exploded above him and the tell tail wires of a Slash Harken retreated behind a near by building.

Jeremiah smirked, all thoughts of the train driven from his mind. After all, it would be rude to ignore such a gift when it had practically fallen into his lap.

….

Kallen was panicking. Despite her words to Oghi, the prospect of death was to terrifying to face calmly.

The Glasgows energy filters began to flash a warning. 30 minutes. All she had left was 30 minutes.

This was it. This was the end. That Purist bastard from before was baring down on her and she had no where left to run. Tears threatened to escape her eyes again.

 _Oghi, Tamaki, Inoue, Minami, Sugyyama, Yoshida… I guess I'll be going first…_

 _"The West Entrance. Use the tracks to move to the West Entrance."_

Kallen nearly stopped running. Nearly.

"Who's this!? How do you know this code!?" she demanded into the com system, pushing the Glasgow as fast as it could go in an attempt to outrun the Purists trailing her. She was in the Glasgow, she wasn't on the same channel as the rest of the resistance. This was her channel, how had they hacked into it? The person was using English, rather than Japanese, and sounded like a Britannian, definitely not one of their own. Besides, she knew everyone who was part of their group personally, and this voice wasn't familiar. Someone else in the Ghettos? Another resistance group maybe? Or, could they be… part of the military?

 _"That doesn't matter!"_ The voice commanded. _"If you want to win, you're just going to have to trust me!"_

Win? What was the voice thinking? Were they on their side or not? How had they gotten these codes!?

If she hadn't been so scared of dying, she never would have listened.

No one had any reason to offer her help now. She would be dead soon anyway.

She turned the Glasgow to the left and used the Slash Harkens to drag the rusted machine up to the raised tracks above the Ghettos. Sparks flew from the metal on metal contact, but at least she had traction.

"Okay, what am I supposed to do now?"

The Purist bastards, two of them, had followed her and were gaining speed. She had trusted this voice but so far she was in the same position she had started out in.

A horn sounded and Kallen looked up as train began approached her along the tracks.

 _"Since you trusted me, you're going to win. Jump onto the train!"_

The Glasgow jumped at her command, leaping onto the train and leaving dents in the cargo cars as she raced along it.

It didn't take long though for the Sutherlands behind her to catch and stop the train, jarring the Glasgow slightly as the inertia stopped.

She kept an eye out behind her as she continued to run. One Sutherland kept the train still while another one leaped after her. Or, at least, attempted to leap after her. It was hit by a pair of Slash Harkens in mid air before it could do anything and crumbled off the side of the tracks.

She looked to where the appendages had come from, spying a lone Sutherland in the rubble of a building just off of the tracks. She stopped, turning her Glasgow around in surprise. What were the doing? Friendly fire? Why had a Britannian's taken out their own?

Could… Could another resistance group come to help them? Had they snuck into the fight pretending to be part of the military?

The enemy Sutherland raised radio, calling out to the rouge. Without warning the rouge attacked again, taking out the other Sutherland's arm and causing it to fall to its knees. They weren't about to go down without a fight though, and raised their own gun to fire back.

Kallen spun around before she had a chance to think. With a war cry, she charged back down the train, heading straight for the last remaining Purist bastard.

He ejected before she could do anything though, flying away to a safe distance.

Kallen leaned back against her seat, feeling the sweat trickle through her hair, and breathed a sigh of relief. Even if the other Sutherland had been crippled, so was her Glasgow, the arm of which had been missing since their first fight. She might have survived this time, but this wouldn't be the last attack

Still, she closed her eyes and, unable to keep it from her face any longer, broke out into a large grin. She won…. She had actually won, just as the voice had promised.

"You saved me…"

Somehow, someway, by some miracle, this voice, whoever they were, had saved her.

"Hey, how did you get a hold of a Sutherland?" She looked up to the Sutherland stationed above her, only to find they had disappeared. "What?... Where did they go?"

The voice had saved her life and now it had disappeared. What was going on here?

He had promised her victory hadn't he? Or had he only meant against the Purebloods? Were they back in the same position they had been before? Did he think it was a lost cause?

They had been foolish to think they stood a chance against the Britannian Military, she knew that, but they had to try. Britannia, with a weapon like that, it was just one nightmare after another. They had attempted to get the JLF or the Blood of the Samurai to join them, but they had been rebuffed for their plan and their half Britannian leader. They thought it could be a trap just because her brother and herself were part of the group.

And now Shinjuku was being destroyed, hundreds of Japanese killed, and the Viceroy was going to get the Poison Gas back to use as he wished.

She wished Naoto was still with them. He would have known what to do….

 _"Hey! Kallen!"_

She turned around to find Oghi, Tamaki, Inoue and Minami running towards her. She chocked back a sob of relief and pressed the intercom system on the Glasgow so they could hear her.

"You guys! Thank god. Are you alright?"

 _"Yeah, we're fine actually. Thanks to that voice."_

"What? They contacted you too?"

 _"Sure did. And Yoshida's group as well. They ought to be here soon. I don't know how, but somehow he lead us past all the Glasgows they had stationed around. It was like he knew where they were!"_

"I-I think he has one of their Sutherlands," she explained quickly. "He must be able to see where all their IEF's are!"

Oghi nodded. _"That would explain it. Anyway, how about you, Kallen? Are you alright?"_

Once again she bit back a sob. "Yeah, yeah I'm alright."

They had been so close to death, so close to having everything they had worked for been for nothing. But they were still here, still breathing, still able to fight, all thanks to that voice…

The radio crackled to life and the group froze. _"Are you in charge?"_

Oghi stumbled over his words as he responded. _"Oh, uh, yeah?... I mean, yeah. Yeah."_

It was faint, probably because it was being filtered through Oghi's walkie talkie and then through the Glasgow's intercom system, but she almost thought she heard the voice laugh.

 _"I present to you the cargo of that train. Their tools for our victory."_

Both she and Oghi whispered out surprised 'Victory?' while Tamaki, the loudmouth, began demanding to know what the voice meant by 'our victory'.

 _"However, if you want to use them to win, then follow my orders."_

Tamaki's shouts of 'Who the hell do you think you are!?' were all but background noise to Kallen as she moved the Glasgow over to the train, using the machines strength to pry apart the locked doors.

If she had been holding something, she was pretty sure she would have dropped it.

Inside, glistening in the evening light, sat at least 4 Sutherlands.

 _"There's more in here!"_ Inoue called after she finally pried the doors apart with grease, muscles and a bit of system hacking.

Shouts of awe and disbelieve filled the air around her, but all Kallen could do was stare at the sleek forms of the Knightmares in front of her. Unlike her Glasgow, the Sutherland was made for Knightmare combat.

It was…. Beautiful, and she desperately wanted to leave the rusted Glasgow behind and replace it with a Sutherland. Her abilities would be much better in there, she was sure.

But how had the voice known what would be in the train? And how had they gotten their own Sutherland?

Not only that, but he had somehow gotten the channels of both their walkie-talkies and the Glasgow.

While she could explain the Glasgow, it was an old system and hadn't been meant to keep hackers out, their walkie-talkies were too old to be hacked into, meaning whoever they were, they would have had to find one of theirs. She hadn't heard of anyone else losing theirs, or was it possible this person had found the one she had lost, or… possibly Nagata's?

They hadn't heard anything from him in a long time and had assumed the worst. Could he… Could he be working with this voice maybe?

She shook her head. The voice had gotten them Sutherlands, weapons and energy filters. It was to much to ask that the voice keep granting them miracles.

But… Just how had the voice done all this in the first place?

 _"Woman in the Glasgow."_

Kallen stumbled over her words in her rush to answer. "Y-Yes!"

 _"Stay where you are."_

It was as if the voice had read her mind, seen how much she wanted to trade in this rusted bucket for something much slicker. And before she could even argue, tell him her skills would be better served in a machine that wasn't falling apart, he explained his reasoning's to her.

 _"Your units going to run decoy. You got that?"_

Something in his voice made Kallen want to snap to attention.

"U-Understood!"

She felt like she was in a proper organization, not the rag tag group they had formed. They had to be from the JLF, that was the only option. They were the only organization who could do something like this.

 _"Energy filler statues?"_

"About 15 minutes' worth!"

 _"Then recharge it. In 10 minutes I'll contact you with your next instructions."_

And just like that, Kallen felt something she hadn't in a long time. Hope.

….

Leloucia was breathing heavily. She had done her best to suppress it when talking to the terrorist and her lungs had begun to scream in protest.

It was no wonder the military only took the best of the best on as Knights. Piloting this thing was exhausting! She was pretty sure her wounds had opened up again.

And she hadn't even been fighting anyone, she had just been driving around. Maybe she should have ordered that woman to piolet the thing for her. No matter though, she had moved the obstacles into the formation she needed.

The train had been the hardest part. She had been lucky to even spot it. Normally such mundane activities would have been supressed in such a time, but it appeared her brother and those under him were more incompetent than she had realised.

She had 'convinced' the driver to ignore anything suspicious, anything like Knightmares attempting to stop him or terrorist taking his cargo. That kind of suspicious things.

Then all that was needed was to find the terrorists. They would obviously be far out of their element, a rag tag group most likely. How they had stolen that girl from Clovis was beyond her, but so was the fact that Clovis hadn't stopped the train, so she supposed it was to be expected.

The girl in the Glasgow had been a real treat though. One armed, running low on energy and begin chased by the Purist Faction. It was like the world had gift wrapped her.

It had taken her a bit, but the Glasgow's systems were pretty easy to hack into.

All Leloucia needed was a few words of hope and the girl was puddy in her hands. She could hear it in her voice, the way she responded when Leloucia radioed her. She thought she was a good little soldier of the resistance.

The rest of the terrorist had been a bit harder, but once she had been able to direct them out of the way of a few patrolling Sutherlands, they began to latch onto her. Especially their leader.

He hadn't sounded sound all that confident though. A rouse to keep the real leader a secret? No, she doubted they were smart enough for that. Besides, he would explain their idiotically thrown together plan.

Pathetic. They thought they could flee through the Ghettos, but that had only brought the anger of the Empire down on innocent people. And what did they think they could do with one Glasgow?

The death of these civilians was just as much on their hands as the Britannians.

Nevertheless, she needed them. Their 'sacrifices' would get her what she wanted. Those that made it through this, she would let live.

After all, she was betting her life in this game. It was only fair that they bet theirs as well.

...

Update: I bet this is why all of you start running away (don't think I don't see you ;P), the horrendous amounts of errors. Sorry, so sorry, sorry. Very ashamed.


	4. Chapter 4

_"Hey! You sure about this?"_ Tamaki snapped, glaring up the Sutherland Oghi had claimed. _"All their IEF's have been disabled. What if this is a trap?"_

"The other side has total advantage in this," Oghi explained calmly, not for the first time in these past 20 minutes, as he fiddled with some of the controls. "They don't need to set any traps."

 _"Argh! I still don't trust this!"_ Tamaki turned away, scratching the back of his head as he grumbled to himself.

Oghi ignored him. Tamaki could complain all he wanted, so long as he followed Oghi's direction. They didn't need another screw up like this morning. "Alright everyone. Let's get to our assigned points and-"

 _"P-1."_

Oghi stiffened.

He was pretty sure he recognized these names as being chess references. He had never played the game before, but when he had been a teacher he had taught his students about many different kinds of games all over the world. Chess, he knew, was a particularly popular game in Britannia and the E.U.

The voice had called not that long ago to give them the code names, explaining that if he had gotten onto this channel, it was likely the Britannian's could also hack into them.

When Tamaki had demanded why the voice didn't just leave out their names, Oghi almost swore he heard the man call him an idiot, a not uncommon nickname the rest of the group had given the red haired man.

Oghi understood the reasoning though. It was pretty simple. The walkie-talkies were all connected to a group; while he could direct the group by tuning into their individual channels, if he wanted only one of them to move he would still be talking to all of them. That would get confusing fast.

 _"Can you move? I assume you've at least tried out the Glasgow. It will operate pretty much the same."_

It was just like the voice said. He had tried out the Glasgow before. It has been a bit to confusing for him, but he at least knew the controls.

 _"If Q-1 is on schedule, enemy Sutherlands, probably two of them, will reach you in 22 seconds."_

22 seconds? Why so precise?

 _"Shoot them through the wall."_

 _"Arh! He's out of his mind!"_ Tamaki snapped, still pacing around the Sutherlands. _"Oghi, are you really going to listen to this guy? Come on man, we have the Sutherlands, why not just attack the Viceroys base? We could kill him!"_

"Everyone, double check your weapons."

 _"What? Are you serious!?"_

He ignored Tamaki's shouts of protest and moved the Sutherland into position. It was hard, he was in no way used to this kind of work and even just moving the Sutherland took muscles he didn't have, but he had to stay determined. His group was doing the best they could in their own machines. He had to do his best too.

10…

 _"Come on man!"_

9…

8…

Tamaki muttered insults at him, but the rest of the group did as the voice had directed, turning their Sutherlands to face the wall beside them and lifting their guns.

5…

The wall would be like butter to the Knightmare's rounds.

4…

"3… 2… 1… Fire!"

For a moment, nothing seemed to be happening, before the wall finally began to crumble under the barrage of bullets, destroying the Sutherlands beyond it.

He could hear the cheers from the others, and after a moment to wet his patched throat, he joined in.

22 seconds. Exactly 22 seconds… Oghi didn't think anything else the voice could do would surprise him now.

…..

Suzaku sat on the edge of the cot he had woken up on, trying to sound out and understand at the same time the words on the pages in front of him.

The back of the medical vehicle had been opened so that the bespectacled man, that Suzaku had now learned was named Lloyd, could have his people come in and run a few tests on Suzaku. He wasn't quite sure what they were meant to do or if he had even passed by their standers, no one told him anything, but at least Lloyd seemed happy.

"Looks like they've got the Prince on the ropes~" said man laughed, spinning round once again as a group of Sutherlands left the convoy for the front lines. "Cecil! Is everything ready?"

Cecil, the blue haired woman who had been with him when Suzaku awoke, looked up from where she sat on the cot beside Suzaku, attempting to help him understand the Britannian in the Knightmares Manual. "Yes, Lloyd. It's all set up."

"Excellent! Excellent! Then lets not waste any time. Raise the Prince! We've got Royalty to save!"

Suzaku grimaced. Lloyd was… eccentric, to say the least.

Cecil at least seemed used to it, as she stood quickly, telling him to do his best and ask around if he didn't know any words, before hurrying to do as her boss had directed.

He got stuck on the second word after she left.

He could speak Britannian fine, reading and writing it on the other hands…. He had joined the military as soon as could, which for an Honorary Britannin was 14, and before than he had been in hiding with his family, so he had never really continued with school. He only had a 5th grade understanding of the language.

He considered for a moment asking someone around him for some help, but he had seen they way they looked at him when Lloyd had introduced him. He was an Eleven, being allowed to piolet the special Knightmare they had worked so hard on. They definitely weren't happy about it.

A large part of him felt guilty, but a bit of him also gloated at the looks on their faces. He was an Eleven, who could do something none of them could.

He wasn't about to give them an excuse to say that he wasn't suitable for the part.

As best he could, he skimmed through the rest of the manual, relying heavily on the pictures and diagrams to understand.

"It's all ready, Lloyd!"

He looked up as Cecil called out to the man, who he swore, nearly danced over to her. "Good, good! Suzaku, get ready! We're about to change the world~"

He gulped. He really hopped this didn't change the world. For one thing, he didn't think he was prepared to be part of that, and for another… This was a Britannian war machine. As much as he wanted to piolet one and prove himself, if this thing was as good as they claimed, it was possible Britannia was planning to go to war again with the E.U. or Chinese Federation.

He wanted to stop the wars, change the way Britannia thought, not subjugate more people to Britannia's rule.

"Good afternoon!" Lloyd called and Suzaku turned to watch the man talk to the laptop in Cecil's arms.

He thought he could hear panic in the voice of the man who responded. _"What is it!? We're in the middle of an operation!"_

"I say it's high time to deploy the ASEEC's special weapon~"

 _"We have no time for this!"_ Another man's voice joined the first. _"Bartley! Cut the line!"_

Lloyd's face fell as Suzaku assumed the channel was cut. "Well that was rude. Call them again!"

Cecil sighed, but did as he asked, attempting to raise the Viceroy and his people once more.

Suzaku turned back to the manual. Despite Lloyd words, it didn't look like the Viceroy was to keen for them to help out. He just hopped the choice made today was the right one.

…..

"We've got word that the terrorists are using Sutherlands!"

"The enemies moving towards G-28!"

"Send Lazlo Squad- I mean Gloubell Squad!"

Bartley was panicking, his brow slick with sweat. Sometimes Clovis didn't understand why he kept the man around. He was a disgusting pig, and not a very competent one at that.

Bartley swung around to face him, wiping his brow with a handkerchief. Some of his sweat dripped onto the floor and Clovis scowled, mentally taking note of having the whole place scrubbed top to bottom when this was done.

"I'm sorry your Highness! I-I'm not sure how this happened!"

"Sir Glowly has just been ejected!"

"His Units been lost!"

"Change our codes! They're intercepting our transmissions!" Bartley demanded, turning away from Clovis and back to the command table, banging his fist on the table as the display showed two more Units being destroyed.

"We already have sir. 4 times!"

"Do it again!"

"This failure is unacceptable!" Clovis finally snapped at them. They were making him look bad.

Bartley flinched violently, spinning once more to face Clovis. "F-Forgive me!"

 _"Good afternoon~"_

The screen was taken up by a live feed of Lloyd Asplund's face. Clovis' scowl deepened. What was his brother's lackeys doing here? Who had let them come along?

"What is it!?" Bartley demanded. "We're in the middle of an operation!"

 _"I'd say its time to deploy the ASEEC special weapon~"_

"We've no time for this right now!" Clovis snapped again, finally rising from his chair and moving towards the command table. "Bartley! Cut the line!"

The ASEEC continued to try and raise them on the communicator, but he ordered them to ignore it. He didn't need his brother's lackeys helping him. He didn't need his brothers help. He could do this himself.

"We just lost Lazlo Squad."

Prince Clovis lifted his chin high, smoothing out his kerchief. "I see I'll have to take this into my own hands. Bring up Quinces Squad."

"My Lord, that will break the encirclement!"

"Reinforce the breach with some of the Units guarding me. All we know for certain is that enemy forces are here." He pointed at the red dot in the middle of the map that was the lone red Knightmare. "As long as we keep them trapped in there, they won't have anywhere to run too. Charge in! Don't let any of them escape!"

The men moved to do as he commanded, sending units of men after the red dot.

As the Knightmares closed in the ranks, Clovis felt the thrill of victory. It was so close he could taste it!

"Alright, send in Bert and the others too! Concentrate our forces there. Surround them! The enemies main force is that center dot. Finish everyone of them off!"

The dot disappeared.

 _"Sir, there's nothing here."_

Clovis started. "What? Where's the enemy?"

There was a shout and a scream and the communication cut out.

A red circle expanded from where the red dot had once been. As it passed over the other Knightmare locations, they disappeared, replaced with the word 'LOST'.

Almost a hundred of his men suddenly just disappeared.

Clovis took a step back, body shaking. What was this? How had that happened? What was going on?!

"Who-Who in the hell am I up against…" Clovis didn't realize he was speaking aloud. "What… What if he's even better that Thodo?!"

Something struck Clovis then, a thought he hadn't even entertained. Was it possible…. Was it possible that Leloucia could be doing this? These strategies… these moves…. No matter what he did, he had never been able to beat her before. Could it be…?

Could she have escaped somehow? The Royal Guards had told him they shot her point blank, but they had also lost her body in the rubble after the explosion. What if… What if that creature had done something? What if they were working together!?

He had thought her dead once, could she have duped him a second time?

No. It was impossible. It had to be impossible. No matter what they did to that girl, she never told them how to achieve her powers. She wouldn't just give it to someone random, would she?

"My Lord…"

Once again the ringing of the communication systems filled the room, the ASECC's number flashing in the bottom left of the screen.

He hit the communicator as though his life depended on it, calling the Earl's face to the screen once more.

"Lloyd!" he commanded, trying to sound more in control than he felt.

The man hardly seemed fazed at the Prince's anger, simply smiling like he knew it would come to this. If anything that made Clovis even madder. _"Yes, Your Highness~"_

"Can it win? Will your toy beat them?"

 _"My Lord, please be so kind as to call it Lancelot."_

"Can it win!?"

Lloyd smiled. A self assured smile than almost seemed to taunt him. _Him?!_ He was a Prince for god sakes! If this man didn't have the protection of his older brother, Clovis would have had him executed for his insubordination.

 _"I grantee it, Your Highness."_

…..

Leloucia almost couldn't believe how easy this had been. Every single trap she laid for Clovis, he stumbled into like a blind man. Of course, she had been forced to sacrifice a few of her own pawns to achieve this, but that was necessary to ensure victory.

Leloucia couldn't help herself. She threw back her head and laughed, ignoring the pain in favour of the absolute joy filling her.

She was actually doing it. Her plan was actually working.

She could defeat Britannia!

…

The back of the vehicle had been closed once again to give him some privacy as he changed.

The bandages the doctor said had to stay. Even though he wasn't bleeding, the tightness of the wrappings was supposed to help somehow. It didn't do a lot to suppress the pain though.

Suzaku slipped on the crisp, white Knight uniform, trying to be careful of his side. It was… strange to be wearing one. He had seen plenty of Knights with them around the base, but wearing it himself felt…. Felt somehow like he was defying the Empire.

Both joy and guilt bubbled in his stomach again.

He squared his shoulders, readjusting the suite.

The communicator in his ear clicked, singling someone was about to speak.

 _"Were you able to get through the rest of the manual alright?"_

Cecil's voice filled his ear. He had been with her for less than half an hour, but he already felt a sort of comfort with her. She was kind to him, never angry when he couldn't read the manual, and had years more patient than anyone he had ever met. She was… sort of like a mother.

"I skimmed what I could," he admitted, inflating the shoulder pads. They would inflate even more in times of crisis, to protect his vital areas. That part he knew at least.

 _"Well done. You scored at the top of your class in the simulator."_

He felt pride swell in him. They had run him through a smaller version of the simulators they had back at the base, to see if he would be a good match with the Lancelot. Unlike with the simulators back at the base though, he had actually won this time.

"Miss Cecil… About what you told me earlier."

 _"It's… possible. But, like Lloyd said, the possibility is nearly zero, you've got to understand. Your best bet is to stop the terrorists and hope she somehow made it out."_

While going over the manual, he had questioned Cecil about Leloucia. She hadn't wanted to tell him much at first, but he pressed and finally she caved. Leloucia had been shot in the abdomen and after they had patched her up, she had fled to god knows where. They had done the best they could with her injury, but Cecil feared any amount of movement Leloucia did now, especially in a warzone, might reopen the wound and cause her to bleed out.

His best bet was stopping the terrorist as quickly as he could so they could do a proper search for her, he knew that, but there was no way he was about to let Leloucia bleed out in a place like this. Or any place, really. He would do his best to stop the terrorist, but his conditions were that his top priority was going to be looking for her.

Lloyd had complained, telling him the chances she was still alive were close to zero. That had been his first glimpse of how violent Cecil could get, as she clocked the scientist (not a doctor he found out) in the head.

"There's still a chance though. Even if it's the smallest of chances, I have to take it, you understand, don't you Miss Cecil?"

The other end was silent for a long time before Cecil finally spoke again. _"Don't do anything reckless, alright? This is a new system; one we didn't think we'd be sending out into the field so soon. It hasn't been equipped with an ejection mechanism yet and… knowing Lloyd, it probably wont, ever. I know you want to help your, uh, your girl friend."_ She was very deliberate in how she separated the two words. _"But… don't get yourself killed in the process, alright? I know she wouldn't be happy about that."_

Suzaku smiled. "Thank you, Miss Cecil."

 _"P-Please, just Cecil, Suzaku. You make me feel so old."_

The convoy had moved out of the way to make room for the ASEEC's vehicle by the time he stepped out of the medical vehicle. It was large, much larger than the other vehicles, but still smaller than Suzaku had expected. In front of it stood a strangely human shaped figure covered by a dark cloth. The Knightmare, obviously. He had, once again, thought it would be bigger.

Outside of his com system now, Cecil's voice filled the safe zone.

 _"Z-01 Lancelot, now activating. Lancelot, activating. Releasing hatch. Z-01 Lancelot, standing by for activation."_

The claw like mechanisms on either side of the Knightmare released, and the dark cloth over it was pulled away.

Suzaku could only stare in amazement.

It was a bit bigger than a Sutherland, though sleeker by far and more human like in appearance. If anything, it looked like those Knights of old from Nunnally's bedtime stories, wearing armour of gold and white.

And he was to going pilot it.

"That's…"

Cecil had returned. _"Yes. This is the Advanced weapon developed by us in the Advance Special Envoy Engineering Core. Lancelot. The worlds first Seventh Generation Knightmare Frame."_

The Lancelot….

 _"Well, if you're ready, Suzaku, shale we proceed with the initial start up?"_

Lloyds cackling voice was a jarring change from Cecil's soft, feminine one, and Suzaku did his best not to flinch. The man was practically shouting in his ear.

It appeared they didn't require an answer from him though as they began the start up process without a word from him.

 _"Initial start up now proceeding from phase 20. Equipping energy filler."_

Suzaku was directed to climb the stairs placed just behind the Knightmare, behind which stood Lloyd, Cecil and another man Suzaku didn't know the name of, each one bent over a desk, seemingly working on the start up.

 _"Confirm pre-start. Energy filler now at normal output. 30 seconds to reach critical voltage."_

 _"Core luminous, shifting phase."_

 _"Yggdrasil Drive up and running."_

 _"Initiating Devicer set up."_

That was Suzaku's cue. The hatch of the cockpit opened up and the Knightmares seat moved back, allowing him to take it.

 _"Confirming entry of Devicer to Z-01."_

The seat moved forward into the Knightmare and the hatch closed behind him, momentarily dosing him in darkness.

 _"Individual I.D. registration, completed."_

A small light came on in the cockpit, allowing him to see what he was doing as he put the gold activation key Lloyd had given him, into the start drive.

 _"Confirmed man-machine interface engaged. Yggdrasil resonance, confirmed. Rejection response, weak."_

The Knightmare hummed to life, like the purring of a cat. The tinted windows lost their darkness and the small light shut off as the cockpit was filled with natural light. Suzaku reached forward, grabbing the joysticks of the Lancelot. The gloves he wore felt strange against the cool metal. He felt almost distanced from it.

 _"Devicer stress response, weak. All readings nominal."_

He took a deep breath, repeating the code Cecil had told him over in his head to make sure he got it right, and typed it into the keypad.

 _"Statues all green. Status of back-up tactical bank, authorized. Secondary conformation given."_

The controls moved smoothly now that the code had unlocked them, and Suzaku directed the Knightmare into a launch position. This was just like the simulator, if not a bit more jarring.

It was… exhilarating. His heart was pounding with excitement and his nerves felt like they were on fire, like electricity coursed through his veins.

He could do this. This was his dream come true. He was ready.

He reached out, pressing the smooth, slightly sticky from disuse, button. "Lancelot, activating M.E. boost."

The Landspinnders roared to life, kicking up dust as they prepared to propel the Knightmare across the battlefield. All he needed now was confirmation…

 _"Lancelot… Launch!"_

Suzaku and the Lancelot took off like the wind, moving faster than he ever thought possible for such a heavy machine. Even the slightest presser from him made the Lancelot respond, and the agility of the thing… it was like an extension of himself. He had never felt anything like this before. It was amazing!

He started laughing, but was quickly cut short as pain blossomed from his side. Right, no time to get caught up in how cool this was. He had a job to do.

 _Wait for me, Lelocuia. I promise I'll find you._

...

Update: See kids, this is what happens when you don't eat your vegetables. You end up a horrible speller and embarrass yourself all over the internet.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Before we start I would also like to thank Shiranai Atsune, an avid female Lelocuh connoisseur like myself lol. Thank you for all your reviews and your support! And thanks to everyone who has decided to read this far!

...

"Another push and the checkpoint will fall," Leloucia chuckled, watching the lines around Clovis' command center thin. Her brother had just presented her with the perfect opportunity. Now all she needed was to-

 _"This is B2 group. Reporting enemy presence."_

Leloucia frowned and pushed herself, with some difficulty, into a sitting position. "Reinforcements?" That was odd. She'd have thought Clovis wouldn't want to call anyone else into this mess. The Honorary Britannian's he had sweeping the place were disposable and he had even attempted to kill her to keep his secret safe. Who did he have that he could call on now?

No matter though. He was desperate. She had pushed him into a corner and he knew it. This new enemy was a curiosity, but hardly a bother. Just one more piece to knock down.

She sighed, picking up a discarded red chess piece and replacing it on the board near B2. "Real battle is different." She brought the walky-talky to her mouth. "Statues."

 _"Everyone ejected. But it took out 4 Units in nothing flat!"_

"Enemy numbers."

 _"Just one. I-I think it's a new model. Never seen anything li-Argh!"_

Leloucia pulled the walky-talky away from her ear as the man screamed.

"What's happening out there?" she demanded, moving the walkie back. The man didn't respond. "B2-3! Tell me what's happening!"

 _"It-It can deflect bullets! What do we do!? Argh!"_

The transmission cut out once again with a scream.

Leloucia lowered the walkie slowly. It deflects bullets? That wasn't possible. They had to be mistaken.

"Useless so-called terrorists," she muttered, leaning back in her seat as she served the bored. "With all the resources I gave them, their being beat by one Unit..." She brought the walkie up once again. "N4, N5, hold there. When the rear Units arrive, surround that thing."

 _"Gotcha."_ They both responded. Only 5 seconds had passed before the walkie faired to life once more. _"We can't stop it!"_ came a panicked voice. _"Argh!"_

"N Units, what is it!?"

Nothing but static.

Could it actually deflect bullets?! What the hell was going on here?!

"What happened? Something I didn't foresee?" She was shaking. So close. She had been so close. "Clovis had a secret weapon this whole time? No… No. I won't lose. Not to you! Not to anyone! P1, repot!"

Static.

"Can… can it really only be just one Unit?"

Leloucia clutched at the hole in her side. The fear coursing through her now wasn't helping to stem the bleeding. She could actually feel her heart beat with ever drop of blood pumped out, and the shaking wouldn't stop. If she didn't hurry, she would bleed out.

And then suddenly there it was, and her heart nearly leaped out of her throat. A white Knightmare, unlike any she had seen before, moving with impossible grace through the building towards her. How? How had it found her?!

The Knightmare slammed into her unit and she gave a cry of pain as she was thrown about the cockpit, her unit only just able to keep from crashing over from the impact.

 _Damn it, damn it! Not here. Not now. I will not lose!_

 _"Are you the guy who's in command?"_

She almost recognized that voice, but in the din of battle it was too hard to tell.

"You're nothing more than a single pilot! How dare you-!"

The floor gave way and Leloucia and her Sutherland fell.

She didn't know how many stories they had fall, but she found herself in lying in a daze at the bottom of a large hole, the white Knightmare standing over her.

The pain… the pain was to much. She was losing blood; her mind was going fuzzy. Was this… was this the end? All this and she was losing to her own accursed body.

She almost gave a chuckle. Of course only she could defeat herself. Not this blasted Britannian toy. _Herself_.

Before either one of them could make a move though, s blur of red attacked the white Knightmare.

 _"Hey! I'm returning the favor!"_

She lifted her head weakly. That voice… the girl in the Glasgow?

Leloucia struggled to reach the controls of her own unit as white and red blurs did battle.

It was over almost as quickly as it started though, an advanced Knightmare such as that was an unfair match against a rusted, one armed Glasgow. Still the woman put up a hell of a fight. At least enough to distract him from Leloucia. Not long enough though.

 _"Why are you doing this? Stop with the mindless bloodshed!"_

Lelocuia froze, fingers just scrapping over the joysticks. It couldn't be… could it?

The woman in the Glasgow ejected, sending Leloucia a panicked warning, but she ignored it. The most vital element in battle is the human one, after all.

The white Knightmare turned to her once again, Slash Harkens pointed and ready to go for the kill, or at least the disable.

 _"Surrender now and I'll do my best to get you a fair trial, I swear."_

It really was him. He had saved her once before when he thought she was a terrorist, would he do it again?

She pressed the intercom system, hoping that even with the labour of her breath, he would recognize her voice.

"Turn off your… Knightmare."

There was no response.

"Whoever… gave you that Knightmare… is watching. Listening… Turn it off, Suzaku. Your com piece too…"

Once again there was no response. Was it possible she had been wrong?

It was to late now though; the pain was making dark spots form in her vision. She couldn't fight back, nor could she run. If her gamble didn't work out, everything was over for her.

The Knightmare turned away from her and the next second, shut down. She watched as the hatch in the back opened and a familiar mess of brown hair and worried green eyes emerged.

She breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing against the seat. It really was him.

The next thing she knew, someone was calling her name.

The blurry shape of Suzaku came sharply into focus and she took a ragged breath as she awoke before dissolving into another fit of coughs. It appeared she had passed out from the pain.

"Leloucia!"

It took her a few moments to realise he was crying.

"Don't cry, you idiot… I'm not dead yet," she muttered, attempting to move into a better sitting position.

They were still in her ruined Knightmare, her own blood staining what had once been a dull grey interior. She hadn't realised she had bleed that much, not until now when she saw it in proper light, but she concluded the fall must have thrown her and any blood that dripped out of her, all around the cockpit like an angry painter.

She groaned, arms struggling to push her up. Suzaku reached out to help.

"How long was I out?"

He wiped the tears from his face with one hand, using the other to keep her sitting up right, and gave a chocked laugh. "Not long. I just got here."

She did her best to smirk. "And yet you're already crying?"

"I opened the hatch and there was blood everywhere and you were passed out and… and I thought the worst."

Her chuckle was weak, but she couldn't help letting it slip by. Even in the midst of battle Suzaku made her feel safe. "I won't die that easily, Suzaku… I've still got things to do, after all."

He fumbled for a moment with the zipper of his uniform, a Knights uniform she realized, and took out a small plastic bag with two yellow pills inside.

"They-They gave me some pain pills to take if it got too bad," he explained, shifting the pills out into his gloved palm and holding them out to her. "Take them."

She shook her head. "Not if they were meant for you…. Aren't you in pain?"

He shook his head back, pressing the pills into her hand. "My, uh, my fathers watch, it deflected the bullet. I'm basically just bruised." He gave a small, guilty laugh, eyeing the red seeping through the lab coat at her waist.

"Ahh. Well, thank you then." She gripped the pills tighter in hand and quickly threw them back, hoping they were fast acting.

He picked her up then, and, had she been in her right mind, she would have complained about not needing help. As it was though, she clung to him as pain arched through her and black spots danced over her vision.

Once again it seemed she had passed out as she awoke to Suzaka calling her name, gently trying to rouse her. They were outside the ruined Sutherland now, Suzaku having lain her out on the ground while trying to wake her up.

She gingerly placed a hand on her side, feeling the blood stain her hand. "That's going to start getting annoying…"

"I'll take you back to Lloyd and Cecil. They can help."

She panicked, sitting up in a hurry only to fall back with the pain. "No! No… he-he knows who I am. He'll use me, Suzaku."

"You're going to die!"

"So be it! I'd rather die than be forced back into that viper's nest!"

Pain flashed across his face, and for a moment she wondered if his wound was beginning to hurt before he wrapped his arms around her and leaned over her, trying to hug her without moving her around to much.

"I just found you again, Leloucia… I can't lose you. Please be reasonable."

"I am… They can't find out about Nunnally, Suzaku. You know that."

It didn't take him long to give into her will. Mentioning Nunnally was what probably pushed him over the edge. Even without her sister's presence, her name was enough to influence either one of them into doing what the other asked, something they had both exploited more than once when they had been younger.

Suzaku leaned back with a frowned. "Alright, I understand. But I'm not about to let you die, alright?"

"As soon as this is all over, I promise you can take me to any hospital you want."

That seemed to pacify him for now, as he helped her to her feet and acted as her crutch as they made their way towards his Knightmare. She would have to question him about that later, but for now she was just thankful to whatever merciful entity was out there that he had it.

It took him a moment, but something seemed to dawn on him as they hobbled closer to the machine. "By the way… What were you doing in that Knightmare?"

She gave him the best smile she could muster, which was much better than she expected. The pain pills must have begun taking effect.

"You gave your life to protect mine. It's only fair that I return the favour, right?"

"The favour?"

"I'm going to stop this, all of this. And I'm going to need your help."

...

A/N: I know these are short chapters, I'm sorry if you were hoping they'd be longer lol. Right now I'm just trying to get them out and uploaded but I also want them to end smoothly so I'm trying to find good stopping places, which end up making it a bit shorter of a chapter than I usually intend. I hope my next, much longer chapter, in someway makes up for this lol.

Also, does no one else find it strange how quickly Lelouch got out of that building after Kallen showed up? From the area Kallen ejected out of, their at least 20 stories in the air, quite possibly more, and despite only 15 seconds of Suzaku and Kallen fighting, Lelouch looked to be a good few blocks away by the end of it. Yeah, I know, it's the small things that bother me lol.

Anyway, all the Favorite and Follows are much appreciated and I hope you enjoy what else I have in store :)


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I just wanted to put in a small warning specifically for this chapter. As we all know this is Code Geass and the Britannian's are often extremely racist to the Japanese population (along with any other foreigners although the focus of Code Geass was in Japan), and as I'm sure most people are aware (although I don't think we're quite as bad as the Britannian's) we're still a rather racist society ourselves (though I'm not going to try and start preaching about stuff right now lol). So I just wanted to put this warning up because I don't want to remind people of anything they might have personally gone through and cause them any discomfort or pain.

Waring: Most of what Jeremiah say (since he holds an unfortunate prejudice against Numbers) do reflect things that have been leveled at Asian, specifically East Asian people. Such as being girly or 'not real men' or woman being docile and submissive. In no way do his thoughts and beliefs reflect my own or the actual truth. This sort of thinking will be continuing throughout the story, though I will try and put warnings up. If you wish to skip that part, it starts the moment Jeremiah appears for the first time (and doesn't continue for to long) and shouldn't affect anything very important in the story (he does pop up further down the page but without a glimpse into his mind). If you do want to know what went on without Jeremiahs own thoughts, please feel free to PM me and I will give you the low down. :)

(On a side and rather embarrassing note, errors have been made. One's that I only just noticed. I have been spelling soldier completely wrong. Somehow, I got it in my head that solider (meaning something more solid) was the right way to spell soldier. Damn my inability to spell! So, I will be going through and fixing these... and any others I might find because I'm sure there are lots lol.)

...

Villetta Nu was not a woman who often let her guard down, so to find herself awakening as if from slumber in an abandoned docking station without her Knightmare was cause for worry. Especially after being visited by a ghost.

After spending almost an hour searching every corner of the secured area for her Knightmare (and possibly a girl that terrifyingly resembled 'Marianne the Flash'), she had all but given up and admitted to someone that she had… misplaced it.

It was her pride though that refused the suggestion to inform someone of her predicament. How would she explain a 7 ton, multi-million-dollar machine simply going missing? Or a dead Empress haunting her? (She had obviously heard one to many speeches from Jeremiah about how great the woman was.)

She made her way to the medical convoy, intending to get someone to check her over for a concussion, or something that would explain the gap in her memory and why she couldn't find her Knightmare. She would get herself checked out, and then she would recheck. Maybe she had missed something?

Lost in her own mind, she walked straight into a ground soldier. She apologized, rather unlike her, and continued on, oblivious to the rather short stature of the guard and the deep purple eyes that followed her.

…

"Attention all forces. Cease fire at once! I Clovis, 3rd Prince of Britannian and Royal Viceroy of Area 11, hereby command you, all forces are ordered to cease fire at once! You will also cease destruction of any buildings or property."

She watched as her brother repeated the words she had told him, with a few additional flairs of his own of course, into the microphone.

"All casualties, whether Britannia or Eleven, shale be treated equally and without prejudice. In the name of Clovis la Britannia, you are hereby ordered. Cease fire at once! I shale allow no further fighting!"

He hadn't even changed out of his party attire, still in the same purple robes she had seen him in during his speech. This was all some sort of joke to him, wasn't it? He figured all he had to do was send in the army, order a massacre, and secure the girl, then he could just return to his party as though nothing had happened. As though he hadn't just mindlessly murdered millions. As though he hadn't just executed his favorite sister.

Her finger twitched on the pistol before she relaxed it.

She was mad, but not nearly that mad. She still had use for him after all.

The click of the microphone echoed in the closed room as Clovis finished. "Are you satisfied?" He sneered down at her from his throne. Even with a gun trained on him, he still had snark left in him.

She would give him that. He wasn't begging for his life like a coward. Not yet at least.

"Very," she hummed, approaching the throne. "Well done. Although, I'm sure your used to scripted speeches by now."

He wasn't sure who she was yet, she was sure of that. The helmet made her voice muffled and the uniform made her look like one of his own soldiers, a male soldier as well. At most he probably thought her a terrorist who had found an opening in his blockaded when he attempted to take down the red Knightmare in a single swoop.

Her ordering his Staff Officers to leave must have been a surprise for him though. She had almost been giddy at the look on his face as those loyal to him turned away.

Her brother leaned his chin on one of his white gloved hands. "And what shale we do now?" he asked, sounding bored. She could see the beads of swear across his face though. He was bluffing. "Sing a few lively ballads? Or perhaps a nice game of chess?"

She chuckled, removing her helmet. "That has a familiar ring to it." In the dark, her appearance was still unknown to him, but her voice had to be clear. At least clear enough to hopefully be recognize from their brief conversation. "Do you recall the number of times you've lost to me, Clovis, or have you lost count? Surely if you had you wouldn't have even tried. A foolish mistake on your part."

The whites of Clovis' eyes were clearly visible, even in the dark of the room. Almost all the pieces had fallen into place for him now. "You... It's… It's not possible…"

"It's been a long time, surely brother, but you would never forget the face of your favorite sister, now would you?"

She took a step forward into the light. Even if it had been 8 years since he had last seen her, it would be hard to ignore the familiar features. She did, after all, look just like her mother, and purple eyes were hardly common.

Clovis' eyes were as wide as saucers now, drinking in the sight before him.

She dipped low in a mock curtsy.

"The eldest daughter of the late Consort Marianne vi Britannia, and 3rd Princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, Leloucia vi Britannia at your service, brother."

The silence in the room stretched on. She was almost worried that she had given her brother a heart attack. He was clutching his chair rather forcefully, and his face was a shade or two paler. Perhaps seeing a ghost had scared him to death.

That would make her job a lot easier.

"L-Leloucia? But you're-"

"Supposed to be dead?" She smirked up at him. "I've come back from the grave, twice now, brother. And I'm ready to change everything."

She stood up, training the gun back on Clovis.

A dull throb began in her side once more, and she knew the pain pills were wearing off. She willed them to hold out a little longer. They had given her the strength to get here, now she just had to finish things.

"I-I'm overjoyed, Leloucia!" He glanced at the gun and gulped. "They said you died when Japan was brought into the fold. What blessing to have you back! We should depart for the Homeland imminently."

"You tried to murder me, Clovis."

He gave a sort of shrieking laugh, almost like a teakettle over boiling. "N-No! No! I told them not to kill you! I swear, I did! It-it's so hard to find good help these days. Please, I'll see to their execution as soon as we return to the Homeland!"

"So you can use me as a tool of diplomacy? Or are you just trying to buy time so you can find another opportunity to kill me?"

"Please, sister, please!"

Ah, he was begging. She had wondered when he would get to that.

Leloucia snarled, the gun jerking in her hands, causing Clovis to flinch. "You killed my mother, you attempt to kill me, and you think begging will save you?!"

Her brother was shaking in his chair.

"My mother held the tittle of Knight of Honour, but that wasn't good enough for you people! She was a commoner by birth; no doubt the other Imperial Consorts held her in contempt. Even though you made it look like the work of terrorists, I am no fool! You people killed my mother!" She strode forward, shoving the gun against Clovis forehead, only slightly clumsy in her anger and weakened state.

He was nearly in tears. "It wasn't me! I swear to you it wasn't!"

"Then tell me everything you know! The truth cannot be hidden from me any longer!" The power began to build. "By who's hand was she slain!?"

Clovis' demeanor changed in a split second. His crying stopped, his hands dropped, his shoulders slumped until he was completely relaxed as the red encircled his eyes. "… Our brother, 2nd Prince Schneizel and our sister, 2nd Princess Cornelia. They can tell you."

"They did this?!"

Clovis was silent.

She almost put a bullet in his head then and there. The voices in her head were screaming at her to do it. He was useless to her. Just another pawn in the grand scheme of things. Useless.

Leloucia took a deep breath to calm herself and closed her eyes, feeling the power fade. "That's all you know, isn't it?"

"I-I swear it wasn't me!" Clovis nearly screamed as he regained himself, arms flailing about. "I had nothing to do with it!"

"I know."

Had things been different, she might have let that be the end of it.

She could feel the gun shaking as the reality of what was about to happen hit Clovis. He had ordered the slaughter of millions of innocent, almost killed Suzaku and herself, and was planning to drag her and Nunnally back to the Homeland, yet he wasn't prepared to die himself?

"Please, you can't! We may have different mothers but you and I are still blood!"

Yes, they were connected by blood. His blood. And it was His blood she had to atone for.

She fired.

Clovis slumped against his chair, twitching slightly as his body tried to catch up to what had just happened.

She felt numb again, but this time her mind was fully aware of what was happening as she stood over the body of her dead brother, his blood flecked across her cheek and the banner of Britannia behind him. Even in death he made a beautiful masterpiece.

"You can't change the world without getting your hands dirty."

…

"Suzaku! What was that? Why did you shut down!?"

Suzaku flinched as Cecil began to scold him through the interface system, her normally soft motherly demeanor replaced by an angry mother hen.

"I'm sorry Miss Cecil. I'm, uh, not quite sure what happened..."

Leloucia had told him to lie, tell them that the Lancelot had shut down randomly, or that he had to use the washroom, something believable. He wasn't sure what she expected of him though, seeing as she always told him he was a horrible liar.

Miss Cecil's expression changed back into the motherly expression he was used to. "Are you tired? Is the pain getting to you? We can stop for today if you wish?"

"No! I'm fine. I'm sorry for worrying you… Please let me continue."

He really didn't like lying to Miss Cecil, but he knew would do it again and again for Leloucia. He wouldn't betray her secrets like that.

Miss Cecil frowned, still looking worried, but sighed and gave in, telling him that next time he was on a mission for them he needed to check in when he wanted to take a break.

His surprise must have been evident, because she smiled and explained that he had exceeded their expectations and they wanted him to stay on as Lancelot's fulltime pilot. So much happiness filled him at that moment that he missed half of Clovis' announcement.

Despite everything that had happened today, despite the guilt he felt at seeing his countrymen dying around him, despite the horror of almost losing Leloucia 3 times today, this really did seem like the day everything changed for him. And maybe, just maybe, things would begin to go right for once.

…

Getting out of the Ghettos was harder than she thought it would be, especially with her bandages now undone and trailing on the ground. Every time the blood soaked fabric caught on the dirt, it tugged at the wound on her side, sending pain arching through her.

She had changed back into her jacket and the lab coat, hoping she could simply slip back into civilization and they would be none the wiser. Suzaku of course would be furious with her. She had promised to wait for him back at the abandoned building he had dropped her off in so he could take her to a proper hospital, but she couldn't rely on Lloyd and the other people who had given Suzaku that strange Knightmare to not be watching and realise who she was. Hopefully she could find him later and apologize, maybe talk with him a bit, take him to Nunnally… take him away from the military and Britannia's clawing hands.

She stumbled, falling against one of the crumbling buildings, dark blotches once again dancing before her vision.

Not this again…

Her legs gave out and she fell.

The last thing she saw before the pain finally overtook her and the world faded, was a Knightmare pilot, face stricken with terror, running towards her.

Not a pilot she recognized, no, that would have been to kind, but one she was almost certain had recognition on his face. She did look like her mother after all, and in the Military, her mother was a legend. It wouldn't take long for them to check her for the purple eyes of Royalty either.

Her luck had, unfortunately, run out.

Although she struggled to stay awake due to this new revelation, to fight back, do something, her injuries would not allow it. The pain pills had done all they could, but she had lost to much blood.

Well, Suzaku was alive at least. And Sayoko would take Nunnally into hiding as soon as she heard the news. If she died here, the world would continue to progress. She, in the end, was not needed.

Still, she would not welcome death with open arms. She would give them hell before she let it or Britannia take her.

…

"Why the hell are we letting the Elevens go?!" Jeremiah demanded of anyone who was close by. "What about the poison gas they've stolen?!"

The unfortunate soldier's he had grabbed could only quake beneath the Margraves anger. "But-But My Lord, it's by order of Prince Clovis himself…"

Argh! What a time for that snivelling excuse for a human being to muck up their operations! They had the terrorists right where they wanted them!

"What about Bartley?" he snapped. Maybe that pig masquerading as a General could talk some sense into that damned Prince. "Get the General Staff on the line!"

"They're not at their posts, Sir!"

Warnings lights were set off in Jeremiah's head.

"Are you telling me Prince Clovis is alone in the Con?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Did none of you consider the Prince might have made that announcement under duress!?"

He didn't give them a chance to explain, rushing off as fast as he could back to the Prince's Royal Convoy. As stupid as Clovis might be, he wasn't about to let yet another Royal die on his watch.

He weaved around groups of shuffling Elevens, Honorary Britannian soldiers and full blooded Britannian soldiers alike in his rush to reach the Con in time. Why did his Unit have to be destroyed so far away? If it wasn't for that damn rouge Unit he'd still have his Sutherland. He could have squished these Elevens beneath its wheels as he charged in to rescue the Prince.

He rounded the corner of a still smoking building, the Prince's Con coming into site, and stopped dead in his tracks, a new sight pushing all previous thoughts from his head.

A doctor seemed to be hobbling away from the safe zone. Normally Jeremiah would have ignored such a think, but this doctor was special. So special in fact that he wasn't even wearing a regulation Britannian uniform.

Jeremiah slowed, a grin spreading across his face.

A terrorist had slipped into their midst's and they hadn't even noticed.

He grabbed his gun from its holster and changed direction, moving instead down an alleyway parallel the one the terrorist took. Jeremiah would catch him by surprise. He had been itching to extract some revenge ever since he had been ejected by that red Glasgow and that other terrorist.

The figure stumbled out of the ally, placing a hand against the wall for support before continuing on. It seemed someone had discovered them already, but had failed to finish the job. And now it was up to him.

Jeremiah continued to stalk them, relishing in the hunt.

The man wouldn't even know what hit him. Or woman, actually. The closer he got the more he realised that this terrorist was not in fact a man as he had first thought, but a woman who had tucked her hair into the back of the lab coat.

He had nothing against woman fighters, two of the best pilots he knew were woman, but an /Eleven/ woman taking to terrorism? Eleven woman were docile, submissive, weak willed. The very notion of one being strong enough to take up arms like this was so absurd he nearly concluded that the terrorist was in fact just a man with long hair and a feminine body, which made a hell of a lot more sense than an Eleven woman terrorist.

The terrorist stumbled again and Jeremiah realised with a jolt as she pitched to the side, her eyes finding his, that she was not in fact Eleven at all, but Britannian. Not only that, but he recognized her.

"Lady Marianne!"

….

Her wake from slumber was much gentler this time. As the haze of medicine pumped into her faded and the immaculately white ceiling came into focus, she wondered for a moment if this was the afterlife.

A persistent, rather annoying noise was filling the room though and Leloucia scowled, shifting slightly on something soft. She could feel the pain, just on the edges of her nerves. Not quite there, but not quite gone either.

Either the afterlife was more painful and annoying than she had expected, or she wasn't dead yet.

She turned her head, the only part of her body that she could move without pain, and found the source of her annoyance. A heart monitor.

Despite everything else, this was what shocked her. She was in a Hospital.

It shouldn't have. She had concluded before the world went dark on her that she would be taken to a Hospital by the Knight who had recognized her. But for some reason, it still did. Maybe it was because she had avoided the military like the plague, concluding them to be the death of her if she was spotted, that she had unconsciously figured she would die as soon as she was recognized, or maybe she had figured she would bleed out long before they could even conclude her identity and should instead be waking up in whatever the afterlife was, if it even existed, or at the very least she expected to wake up chained to the bed and ready for transportation back to her father.

Instead she found herself very much alive and very much in luxury. This was not your average Hospital room, oh no, this was more like a private Hospital wing.

The door to her room creaked open and a teal haired man entered. He was tall, broad shouldered and strong jawed, a rather intimidating looking man. The long cloak of Nobility was draped over his right shoulder, his hair was slicked back, and his stance nervous, like he had dressed up to come and see her.

It didn't take her long to remember who he was. The red wing pinned to his lapel was a dead give away. Maragrave Jeremiah Gottwald.

What was a Pureblood leader doing here?

Long strides delivered him to her bed before she had time to come to a conclusion. She worked to keep the fear from her face as they watched one another, each with a similar amount of wariness.

The next second, he was on his knees, head bowed so low his teal blue locks brushed the floor. A greeting reserved for an Emperor, not an exiled Princess.

"My Lady, you do not know how much my heart sings to have found you alive." His voice was barley above a whisper and trembling as though he was crying. "When I discovered you in the Ghettos I was overcome with joy, though it was short lived when I discovered you were injured."

She could only stare at him in confusion. As a Princess, even an exiled one, she was used to being treated to bows and curtseys, those of lesser stances being force to treat her like she above them, but this was going beyond and above. This man was going so far as to embarrass himself just to show her how much above him she was.

This was not something she expected from a man such as Margrave Jeremiah.

"I beg your forgiveness, My Lady, but I know I don't deserve even that."

Leloucia frowned, clearing her throat before she spoke so that the words wouldn't get stuck. "What for?"

He flinched as though she had shouted at him, and she wondered what had driven this man to be so… fearful of her.

"For failing you, Your Highness, Princess Nunnally and-" He seemed to take a moment to collect himself. "And your mother, the Empress."

Her body went cold.

"I was part of her Royal Guards the night of her assassination and I failed to protect her. I failed her once again when I did not get to you and your sister in time. I thought this land had claimed you and my resolve must have grown dull for I could not find you until today. For that I must be duly punished."

He handed her his gun.

That was when she remembered the man for what he truly was. She hadn't recalled before, passing him off as only the leader of the Purist Faction, but that was to be expected. He just was one of thousands who had guarded her and her family. He had been so insignificant back then.

He had indeed been part of the Royal Guards, and as dedicated as any other to protecting the vi Britannian's and keeping them happy. She and her sisters had nicknamed him Orange after his eyes and the time he picked oranges from a tree for them.

He was probably only more familiar in her mind for that fact alone.

She lay the gun in her lap. "I'm not going to kill you, Orange boy."

He looked up, the shock clear on his face.

"Instead, I will request your help. Even as an exiled Princess, I still retain my right to ask for protection from a Knight. As such, I request of you Jeremiah to give your life to me."

For a moment, the man didn't say anything, lowing his head once again, and Leloucia considered that she might have been wrong. Maybe his plan to ask her to take his execution into her own hands was just a play. He had, after all, only known her as a Princess, and a young one at that. Maybe he didn't think she could do it.

Had she read him wrong?

But it didn't take long for her previous believe to be proven correct, as the man raised a tear stained face to her in what she could only describe as absolute devotion.

"You are most forgiving, My Lady. I swear I will serve as your one true Knight until the day I die." The tears continued to stream down his face, though they never affected his joyous smile. "I will gladly give my life for yours; your every wish, nay, your every whim will be my command. Your word is my law, My Princess."

He bowed his head once more.

The man was rather over the top, but she appreciated his declaration of loyalty. If it was true that was. She would have to test that.

He though, had overstepped himself somewhat.

"Not quiet," she corrected. "I won't make you my Knight until I am sure of your conviction. To live in constant wonder whether today will bring you great honour or death shale be your punishment for failing my mother. Until that point, you shale guard me with your life, but you will not be given such a noble tittle."

The man didn't raise his head, but she could see his shoulders tensing. "Yes, of course, Your Highness."

Silence once again stretched in the room before she broke it with a question she knew needed answered.

"Who else knows of my survival?"

"Not many," Jeremiah admitted, still bent by her bed. "What with the confusion over your brother…" He looked away and she realised he was trying to find a way to tell her what she already knew. That Clovis was dead, and judging from how he was acting, the 'culprit' had yet to be caught.

"Do not lie to me, Orange. I will not take kindly to it."

He raised his head. "My apologizes, My Lady. It is just that your arrival could not have come at a worse time. Your brother, the 3rd Prince, Clovis le Britannia, has been murdered."

It took her a moment to realise he was looking to her for a reaction. She mustered up what she considered a rather good display of shock as her mouth purposely fell open and her eyes widened. It wasn't until the man plucked the box of tissues from the side of her bed and presented them to her, that she realised she had actually begun crying.

It appeared killing her own half brother had left more of an emotional scar on her than she cared to admit.

"We, that is to say, me and the Purist Faction," he continued. "Decided to keep your survival under wraps until we could be sure of your safety and present you properly."

She wiped the tears from her eyes as he spoke, feeling the familiar and welcome surge of anger replace the numbness in her heart. So they planned to use her, was that it? Make the claim as her saviour in a desperate bid for power? They were fools.

"My Lady, what of Princess Nunnally?"

"Dead!" she snapped. The pain the words caused would do well to convince him of the fact, but the very thought of Nunnally being dead drove knives through her heart.

"Another failure on my part." The mans voice quavered. "I'm sorry…"

It took her a moment to sooth her anger. She folded her clenched fists in her lap, trying to hide the trembling in them. "Not your fault, Orange. The Empire was the one who invaded while we were still here."

She watched his shoulders stiffen, orange eyes glancing up at her for only a second before they lowered once again.

"I'm sure your father attempted to-"

"My father did nothing, Orange. Just as he did nothing when my Mother was killed."

Jeremiah remained silent.

"Then, the Emperor is…"

"Yes. My enemy."

Once again silence filled the room. Unlike when she was leading the terrorist, this bet held very few risks for her, but many for him.

Her identity was already revealed; her return to Pendragon and her family was quite possible a death sentence; and, most important of all, no one knew of Nunnallys survival. She, therefor, had nothing left to lose.

He, however, could still loss everything.

Slowly, Jeremiah rose to his feet, orange eyes finding hers and holding them this time. "Then he is my enemy too, My Lady."

A thrill went through her. Jeremiah Gottwald was a powerful man, made that way by the Empire. He had no reason to be treasonous, yet here he was, his life in her hands, swearing himself an enemy to the man who represented his precious Nation. All for her.

A large grin stretched across her face. "Very well then, my first request of you Jeremiah, is a phone."

…..

Sayoko nodded again and again in the dark of the room. "Yes. Yes, I understand. Right away, My Lady." She waited until the other end had hung up before doing so herself, holding back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes, and quickly wiped them away, chiding herself for them.

She had a job to do. There was no time to cry for her fallen Lady.

She picked up the phone again and dialled.

"Mistress Milly? It is Sayoko."

"Sayoko? What's up? Is everything alright?"

"I'm afraid not. Lady Leloucia has been captured."

There was a sharp intake of breath on the other end. "What? When? How? Where!?"

Sayoko shook her head, even though she knew Mistress Milly could not see her. "I asked her the same, but she informed me that it was to late. Operation Alpha is to go into effect immediately."

Mistress Milly was silent for a long time, so long that Sayoko almost felt the urge to push her to respond. But she knew Mistress Milly would be going through her own storm of emotions right now, and so Sayoko allowed her to grieve, if only for a few seconds more.

"I'll tell Grandfather. We'll keep the Summer House off limits for as long as we can and clean up after you. You just worry about getting Nunna out of here. And tell… tell her I love her, okay?"

"I will, Mistress."

"Sayoko… thank you. For everything."

Pride swelled in Sayoko. "Of course, Mistress Milly."

This time, she wiped tears of happiness as well as sadness from her face as she hung up. She allowed herself only a few seconds to grieve before she began to hurry around the room, pulling her already prepacked emergency bag out from under the bed and throwing in anything else she might need.

The door opened and Sayoko turned to find a wheelchair bound girl enter, a worried look on her sweet face.

"Sayoko?"

She whipped the tears from her cheeks. "Yes, Lady Nunnally?"

"Are you alright, Sayoko?" the small girl asked, wheeling closer. "I thought I heard crying..."

Sayoko moved over to Lady Nunnally so that she did not have to wheel the whole way, and knelt by her side, taking her small hand in her own. "I'm sorry Lady Nunnally, I have terrible news. Lady Leloucia has been caught."

The small girl tensed

"I just talked to her on the phone. I am to initiate Operation Alpha. Do not fear, Lady Nunnally, I will get you to safety."

Lady Nunnally's hand tightened on Sayoko's and a most terror stricken expression filled her face.

"No! I-I can't just leave her! Sayoko, you have to take me to where she is!"

"Lady Nunnally…"

"No! No, I demand you take me to her! Sayoko, I demand it!"

The girl was hysterical, unwilling to leave her dear sister. Sayoko commended such love, but Lady Leloucia's orders had been clear. Lady Nunnally was under no circumstances to be found.

"I apologize for this, Lady Nunnally." She reached up and pressed a pressure point on Lady Nunnally's neck. The small girl slumped in her chair.

Sayoko took the unconscious girl with her as she continued to pack up their belongings, unwilling to let the girl out of her sight now. Lady Leloucia had not been able to say much over the phone for fear it was being tapped, and what she had said was all in code. She had not mentioned one way or another if Sayoko should expect someone to be tracking them down already, most likely alluding to the fact that Lady Leloucia herself did not know.

The doorbell rang and in an instant Sayoko had shred her maids uniform, revealing the tight leotard she wore underneath in lieu of her regular Ninja garb.

She left Lady Nunnally in the corner of the room, as hidden as she could behind the bookshelf and out of view of any of the windows, and quickly took off towards the front of the house as the doorbell rang again. She slipped out the window of the second-floor landing, just above the front door. Moving as quietly as a mouse, she slowly lowered her upper half to see who was at the door, throwing knives at the ready and-

It was Mistress Milly.

Sayoko dropped silently as the girl once again rang the doorbell, even resorting to pounding on the door this time.

"Mistress Milly?"

The girl jumped and spun around, hand to her heart. "Sayoko!"

"What are you doing here, Mistress?" Sayoko asked, stepping forward. Despite the relaxed guises she put on, her hand kept a tight gripe on the knives behind her back.

She absolutely adored Mistress Milly, having taken care of her when she was younger (and far brattier), but Lady Leloucia's orders had been clear. Anyone suspicious or untrustworthy was to be eliminated.

Mistress Milly had said she would talk to her Grandfather about the Summer Home. She had mentioned nothing about showing up at their front door.

"Grandfather's sent me to tell you the car was ready. We-We have it parked out back…"

Sayoko could see how Milly gulped, eyes wide as she watched the hand behind Sayoko's back. She was well aware of how dangerous Sayoko could be, and seemed to be worried that she had found herself on the receiving end.

Sayoko relaxed though. This was all part of the protocol, although according to the plan, Master Ruben was supposed to come and tell them. She supposed she could forgive this small change though.

She bowed. "Thank you, Mistress Milly. We will be along shortly."

"Ah, yes, um… I will see you there then."

Mistress Milly left in quite a hurry after that and Sayoko returned to the upper level floor through the window. She hopped Mistress Milly would forgive her for scaring her. She did not want her last memory of the maid who helped raise her to be a bad one.

The thought sobered Sayoko even further. This was to be her last moments at Ashford Academy and quite possibly the last time she saw Mistress Milly. The girl would try and visit them she was sure, especially for Lady Nunnaly's sake, but would she be allowed and was it a risk any of them were willing to take?

She couldn't dwell on such thoughts though, and quickly moved to grab the bags. Lady Nunnally's safety came first. The quicker they were out of here, the quicker they could put some distance between themselves and anyone who might be after them.

…..

Suzaku had spent almost an hour at their designated spot, waiting for Leloucia to show. When she hadn't arrived in the first 5-minutes, Suzaku had begun to panic, worrying she might have collapsed somewhere. He had calmed himself down enough to wait a bit longer by the time 10-minutes had rolled around, only to once again begin lamenting to himself everything that could have happened to her, and then to once again calm himself by the 15-minute mark.

This pattern continued again and again until before he knew it, it was almost 9 pm.

He then spent the rest of that night searching the Ghetto's for her and practically begging Lloyd and Cecil to check the records for her name or face.

For some reason, his late-night activities must have been considered suspicious (despite all the other soldiers participating in the clean up efforts), because just as the dawn was beginning to roll around, he was arrested.

He found himself in the back of a police car, his protests falling on deaf ears, being transported to not just any old prison, but the militaries state of the art, high security prison.

No one would even tell him what charges they were laying against him.

Now he lay in a windowless cell, arms bound behind his back, in a similar straightjacket to the one the green haired girl had worn (was she why he was being arrested?), unable to tell if it was night or day and hoping desperately that Leloucia somehow found her way out of the Ghettos and to a hospital.

At least one of them had to survive this mess, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let it be him.

…

Milly slammed her hands onto the table. "Alright, listeeeeeeennnnnn up!"

The group cringed. Milly had a voice that didn't need a microphone to magnify, and a personality to match.

She had called an impromptu meeting of the Student Council long after class had ended. It wasn't exactly unheard of for her to call a meeting at strange times, but the urgency of her message had scared them. They hardly needed her to tell them to listen up when they were already sitting in worry.

Leloucia, despite them being in the same house as she and her sister lived in, had not shown up. She hadn't shown up at school either, but that wasn't necessarily uncommon. It wasn't anywhere close to being her birthday, so they had dismissed the possibility that Milly was planning a surprise party and so had excluded her, which meant Leloucia wasn't showing up n her own accord.

They hadn't seen her since she disappeared when out with Rivals, which had been at least three day ago, and no one had heard from her since. It worried them all.

Especially since they could tell that whatever reason Milly had to call them all together was making her anxious as well.

"Where is Lulu?" Sheirly pipped up. "And why did you call this meeting so late?"

"Yeah Prez, this is a rather inconsiderate time, isn't it? I was already in my Pj's when you phoned!" Rivalz added, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"I was working on my project…" Nina whispered, obviously upset about leaving her precious project behind despite her quiet voice.

"Where is Leloucia?"

"Is this another birthday party plan? It's to early Madam President!"

"She wasn't at school today either!"

"You don't think she's missing, do you…?"

"GUTS!"

Everyone cringed.

"Are you trying that guts spell again?" Rivalz questioned, giving the Prez a suspicious look. He stopped trying to kid around though at the look on Milly's face. "What's going on, Prez? Why are you so worked up? Does it have anything to do with Leloucia?"

Milly took a deep breath, looking at each of them in turn. "I'm not exactly sure how to start…"

"The beginning, Madam President," Sheirly said. "What does this have to do with Lulu? Did she get in trouble for gambling?"

Milly shook her head and gave an rather unhappy laugh. "No, nothing like that. I wish she had…"

"Milly!" Sheirly seemed to think her wish was an inappropriate one. The girl had always considered Leloucia's gambling habits one of her worst flaws.

Milly hugged herself, hoping that would somehow keep her together during all of this. "Leloucia's family found her… Or should I say, her real identity finally caught up to her."

"Her family?"

"Real identity?"

"What do you mean they found her? I thought they were dead?"

Milly shook her head again, stronger this time. "That was a lie. A lie to protect her and Nunnally."

"A lie? Why would she lie about something like that?"

"Because she didn't want to go back to her family."

"What? Why? Who's her family?"

"The Imperial Family."

A hush fell over the Student Council room, penetrated by a few whispered 'what?'s.

"She and Nunnally's real name isn't Lamperoue, but vi Britannian."

Once again the room fell silent, and even Milly wasn't sure what to say. She was used to being loud and outrageous, but something like this required tact. She shifted uncomfortably under their stares.

Rival was the first to speak up. "So your saying Leloucia, our Leloucia, is really a Princess? Same with Nunnally?"

"Leloucia vi Britannia and Nunnally vi Britannia, yes."

Rivalz looked at her like she was crazy. "No way! Come on Prez, be serious. What would Princess' be doing here?"

"Is this another one of your jokes, Milly?!" Shirley was nearly in hysteria.

"This isn't very funny, Milly…" Nina added.

Milly let out a sigh of defeat, her shoulders slumping, brows drawn together.

"Look, whether you believe me or not, Leloucia needs our help. Sayoko's already moved Nunnally and now we-"

"Moved Nunnally? What do you mean?"

"Where?"

"It will be in the news sooner or later if she isn't…" Milly couldn't finish her sentence, the emotions making the words stick in her throat and tears prick at her eyes.

Leloucia and Nunnally had been as close as sisters to her. To be losing them both in one night, to different fates, she felt like part of her world was crumbling away. They had always thought they would have more time, at least until Leloucia finished school, but now… Now it was all happening too fast for her and she could barely keep up let alone keep her emotions in check.

She straighten back up, hoping she looked stronger than she felt. "You've probably heard of 'Marianna the Flash', correct?"

"Yeah, she was a military legend. She piloted one of the early Knightmare Frames, right? And later got married to the Emperor. A regular old Cinderella story."

"She got assassinated by terrorists though…" Nina added.

Rivalz chuckled, rubbing his head. "Okay, maybe not a Cinderella story, but she was pretty spectacular. My mom had a major girl crush on her. Bought a lot of merchandise just because it had her face on it. She was on every plate I ever ate off back home. But what's that…" Something seemed to dawn on Rivalz as his face paled.

Milly shook her head. "That was Leloucia and Nunnally's mother. From what she's told me, the terrorist story was just a cover. Someone in the Royal Family who was upset about the way the Empress had risen through the ranks decided to get her and her children out of the way. Nunnally was hurt in the attack and losing both her legs and sight."

Shirley clapped a hand to her mouth, eyes wide.

"After that, the Emperor wouldn't so much as give them the time of day. He cast them aside less than a week after their mother was killed and sent them to Area 11 to be political tools. Only a year after that, Britannia invaded and the Princesses were thought killed by angry Elevens. In actuality, they came to live with us, the Ashford family, hiding their identities in case they became targets again. I don't think Leloucia ever forgave her father for what happened. She blames him personally for her mother's death and her sisters crippling."

There was a mix of reactions from the group, ranging from shock and horror to disbelieve and even a few flashes of anger. She wasn't sure though if they were just angry at what had happened to their friend (she hopped it was that one), or if their devotion to the Empire was showing. They were, after all, loyal Britannian's. The Empire was all they knew, and the Emperor was practically a God to them. Just because she had seen the truth about the man, didn't mean they did.

She had come here hopping their love for their friend would triumph everything, but had she been naïve?

"I'm only telling you this because Leloucia wants us to promise her something," she stressed, crossing her fingers in hope that she hadn't just blown Leloucia's plan. "We need to swear never to mention Nunnally ever again."

Once again the group was silent, each mulling in their own thoughts.

Milly was nearly praying at this point. The Student Council were thankfully the only ones to know of Nunnally's existence in the Upper grades, and she trusted them beyond a doubt… Well, maybe not beyond a doubt. She really wished she did, she wished she trusted her friends as much as she said she did, but being born into a world of lies and deceit had trained her to trust no one but herself. Before the Ashford family had been stripped of their tittles, they had trained Milly in the ins and outs of the court and the multiple backstabbing's that went on behind the scenes and in front of an audience. She knew how fickle friendships could be and how easy it was to get duped.

Her friends hadn't grown up in the same environment though. Would they still stab someone, even a close friend, in the back just to get ahead?

Sherily, kind, caring Sheirly, spoke first. "For Leloucia and Nunnally, we'd do anything, right guys?"

Rivalz and Nina glanced at each other for a moment before they nodded. "Right."

Milly let out a sigh of relief, her legs nearly giving out from under her. Oh thank god. She knew she could trust them. She knew their friendship meant more to them than anything. She couldn't hold back her smile.

"Good, then for Leloucia and Nunnallys safety, I as President of the Student Council, command you to never mention Leloucia's sister again! Under threat of punishment from yours truly!" Her smile morphed into a wicked one, one she only used when planning how best to destroy her enemies. Despite Milly's carefree attitude, she was quite adept at devising plans of mass destruction on students who did things she didn't agree with.

That and the story Milly had told them was more than enough to prompt the rest of the Student Council into loud cheers of agreement.

….

"Do you recognize this gun, Suzaku Kururugi?"

Suzaku lifted his head, eyes finding the gun. No, he didn't recognize it, but he doubted that mattered.

They were in the militaries interrogation cell, Suzaku bound and placed on a chair, guards surrounding him, and an imposing man her recognized as the leader of the Purebloods, taking the seat across from him.

"This is the tool that was used to murder His Highness, Prince Clovis and nearly took the life of my Princess."

Suzaku flinched at that, finally showing an emotion besides solemn. His Princess? He only knew of one Princess that had been in the area… Was it possible he meant Leloucia?

"We've verified its based on the markings on the bullet and-"

"Please! The other Princess, what happened to her?"

"You insolent worm!" the man stood, slamming his hand upon the table.

Suzaku fell silent. He knew the look in the mans orange eyes. A look of hatred and disgust. Suzaku was nothing but an Eleven to him, scum of a conquered nation. He would get no sympathy here. It would be better if he kept his mouth shut, but he promised nothing. Not when he was being so unfairly treated.

The man settled once more into his chair, the tension never leaving his shoulders as though he was just waiting for Suzaku to speak out again. "I investigated your background too. You are the only legitimate child of the last Japanese Prime Minister. That's plenty of motive for you."

"There's been some kind of mistake," Suzaku pleaded, shaking his head. He couldn't help himself. He knew the men didn't believe him, but the truth had to prevail. "I've never seen this gun before! I was piloting the ASECC's Knightmare, Lancelot. Ask any of them, they'll tell you!"

One of the guards kicked the chair out from under him and his already injured cheek hit the floor, bursting into pain. Multiple shoes pounded into his body, but he didn't resist.

He was used to the beatings after all. Being an Honorary Britannia in the army didn't afford him many rights, no matter what the law said, and while the right to a fair trial was written in there, it was hardly ever followed. Just another incentive for his people to give up their culture and their pride in the name of false promises.

"Your fingerprints were found on it, don't lie to us, boy. Just admit it already and face the consequences with honour."

He wasn't about to go down without a fight. He was innocent, too many people knew that. The man had nothing.

"I told you, I didn't do it!"

The men around him once again sprang into action, pummelling him until he feared for a moment that he might pass out.

The man stood up then, a smirk on his smug face, and the beating stopped. "That's a pity. If you had, my Princess might have been merciful and killed you without pain."

Suzaku felt the cut's in his lips stretch painfully as he opened his mouth once again. He could taste blood. "Is it Leloucia? Is it Leloucia!?"

The man rounded the table in a furry, delivering a hard kick to Suzaku's face. "How dare you speak my Princess name so freely! Know your place, Eleven!"

He could feel that his nose was broke, more blood dripping into his mouth. Despite the pain though, he relaxed. Leloucia was alive. She was alive.

Suzaku went limp as the beating continued, knowing fully well that was all he could do. Not only was he tied up, but these men were full fledged Britannina and he was nothing but an Honorary Britannian. If he had ever defended himself from a beating, he would have been executed on the spot for his supposedly unprompted attack. He had seen it too many times to not know how this ended.

There was a difference between demanding he be given the same rights as everyone else, and getting himself killed over something stupid.

The beating stopped, and the teal haired man grabbed Suzaku's hair, twisting his face up to look at him.

"I'm sure my Princes will want to see your execution personally," he sneered, before dropping Suzaku and leaving as the beating resumed.

….

Three days had passed since the incident in Shinjuku and so far, there was no signs that the anyone was on to them, just an increase in surveillance and military presence in the Ghettos.

The resistance group had meet up in Ohgi's small apartment in the Setagaya Ghetto's, directly beside Shinjuku, dodging the patrols as best they could. Kallen, who couldn't be with them physically, had been put on speakerphone so she wouldn't miss anything.

"The one who contacted us must have been Kururugi Suzaku. He stopped the slaughter and even killed Prince Clovis!" Inoue was determined that this was what had happened. Ever since the death of Prince Clovis had been announced and Kururugi taken into custody as the culprit, she had been convinced it had been him talking to them. And most of the group agreed with her. "He must have been caught after he called Kallen. That's why he didn't respond when we tried to get a hold of him!"

Oghi had thought the voice had sounded Britannian, and so had Kallen, but the possibility of Kururugi Suzaku leading them was to promising to pass up. Was it possible Kururugi had adopted a Britannian accent to trick them? It wouldn't have been the craziest thing he had done…

"The son of the Japanese Prime Minister… He must have been working his way through the Britannian Military so he could get close to the Viceroy!" Tamaki cheered. He, of course, had been convinced Kururugi was nothing but a traitor when he was first mentioned. He changed his tune pretty quickly though when Inoue started to explain her belief.

"But now he's going to be executed…"

Kallen's voice cut in. "We can't let that happen! He led us to victory and saved the people of the Ghettos. We have to rescue him!"

"But how?" Ohgi asked for not the second time that night. Did he always have to be the voice of reason for this group? Was he the only one who understood how close they had come to dying? If it hadn't been for the voice… "We barely made it out of Shinjuku even with his help. And they'll be on high alert now. There's no way we would every get close to him."

Kallen fell silent. Even if it was true what he had done for them, there was nothing they could do for him. They were just one, small resistance group out of hundreds. And they weren't even that good. Without Natoto or Kururugi, they would have died in Shinjiko, and each and every one of them knew that (excluding possibly Tamaki). What could they do against Britannia without a leader like that?

...

A/N: I tried so hard to understand the Britannian Royal Family system, but I have failed drastically lol. Euphy is the 3rd Princess but is only 16 while Marrybell (who I know isn't code geass anime canon but I'm hoping to involve her in this story later on), who is also 16 (since I believe OZ takes place after Suzaku is made a Knight of the Round), is 88th Princess? So, how many girl children did you have in one year Charles? Unless of course in line for throne means something completely different than whatever the number of your birth is, which is what I thought it was at first but seem to be wrong about... (especially because I believe I heard somewhere that Nunnally is like 12th Princess yet 87th in line for the throne... also what the hell? How is Nunnally, 3 years younger than Marrybell, above her in line for the throne?). Also, there's the case that Lelouch was the 11th Prince which means there are about 8 other Princes that are older than him which I'm going to need to try and figure out... Anyway, the reason for Leloucia being 3rd (as you've probably heard a million times from other writers) is that Euphy is 3rd and since Leloucia is older than her she would take her spot.

Continuing my confused rant, how many kids did Charles have in the 3 years between Lelouch's birth and Nunnally's? 11th vs 87th, like sheesh, that's 70 different kids... I know you're the Emperor and all Charles, but don't you ever get tired? And when do you have time to run a country, attempt to kill god, and sleep with all these women enough to impregnate them? ... Maybe he just uses his Geass on baby's and their moms to make them think they're his kids? Or else maybe his wives have their own affairs off to the side and he just plays along pretending to be their father. Or maybe I just don't understand the system the Britannian's follow like I thin I do lol.

Please... I don't know if I'm just not getting it or what... but I need someone to explain this to me lol.

Also, to sort of not really answer your question Shiranai Atsune, Suzaku's Geass will be- Oh, and unfortunately that's all the time we have tonight folks! Tune in next time where this question and many, many more may or may not be answered in a few hundred chapters or so lol! Good Night!

~Kelpie

Update: Few more spelling mistakes and grammar fixed!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Short chapter, I know, I'm sorry lol. I'm trying to graduate school this year and unfortunately health problems are starting up and... well, you don't need to know my whole life's story now do you? lol I'm going to try and get the next chapter out sooner, but thank you so far for all the likes, favorites and nice reviews~

...

"His Highness's memorial program was well made, although it may have been a little too emotional. My Princess's needs more work though. This is her triumphed return after all. She needs perfection."

The man before him, one Diethard Ried, bowed and mumbled out his thanks. "First, Your Excellency, the masses desire tears, and second, the Princess's return should be saved for a later date. We don't want either broadcast to overshadow the other, and with more time I would be able to fill it with some more up-to-date photos of Her Highness."

Jeremiah smirked. "A response fitting a TV producer. You're all about milking it for every penny it's worth, am I right?" The man didn't react. "Regardless, I will acknowledge your skill. I must say though; it was almost as if you already knew of His Highness's death to get that much together in such a short amount of time. I suppose you didn't consider My Princess's survival to be a possibility though, hmm?"

"Forgive me, but the memorial programs of all important personnel have already been prepared." Diehart glanced up. "Yours as well, My Lord."

Jeremiah liked the mans balls.

"The Princess's return though, was not something I had ever considered preparing for. It is nothing short of a miracle. We did the best we could with reusing some of her own memorial program, but those are of such a young girl we worry it might not represent her properly as she is now."

Jeremiah stood, clasping his hands behind his back, chin raised proudly. "You are right to worry. My Lady has grown into a strong, beautiful woman, much like her mother before her, and her triumphed return must be perfect. I will bring this news to her. Until then, you will have to make due."

The man bowed again, mumbling his appreciation before Jeremiah bid he rise once again and moved around the Viceroys desk to stand before him.

Jeremiah leaned closer, wicked smile on his lips. "I would like to ask you for one more job. Tomorrow night, we will transport Suzaku Kururugi to the military court."

He saw a flash of understanding in Diethard eyes. "Let me bring the Britannians who love their country to the route."

Jeremiah smirked. "I'm glad that it's easy to negotiate with you. Make sure his face is easily visible when we're transporting him."

"Of course, the Nation needs to see what kind of monster he is."

Jeremiah laughed. "Have you ever considered joining the military, Diethard? We could use more men like you, especially in the information offices." Or, better yet, in his Princess' own personal collection.

"Unfortunately, I don't think that would be a fit. It's not really my cup of tea."

"Too bad. Maybe you can be of use some other way."

"Yes, well, if you are ever in need of my services again." He bowed, and turned for the door when Jeremiah dismissed him.

"Lord Jeremiah."

He turned to acknowledge Lady Villetta, who gave him a small bow before she continued to speak. "There are those among the Elevens who hold Private Kururugi as a hero. I believe that there may be some groups who will try to rescue him. I wonder if it is wise-"

He waved her worry away.

"We the Purebloods will escort him personally with our Sutherlands. If anyone comes strolling out, then we will execute them on the spot. You worry to much."

She bowed again, though he could see she still wished to argue. "Very good, My Lord."

Jeremiah watched her leave. She was a good solider. Component enough to ask questions but listened when told to drop it.

He would have to talk to his Princess about getting Villetta a place within her ranks. The woman more than deserved it, and to be a Knight under a Princess was quite the prestige, even if she wasn't a Knight of Honor.

Lord Kewell, who had been silent the entire interaction, turned to Jeremiah and bowed. "Will there be anything else, my Lord?"

Jeremiah waved him away. For today, he was finished with his official duties, but his private ones were only just beginning. When his Princess was well enough to leave the hospital, she would need all the help she could get to survive the trials and tribulations of the Royal Court. She would need a strong support group to stand beside her, and he knew just where to find one.

…..

"He took out a Prince of Britannia! We must praise Kururugi Suzaku as a hero!"

"But he's an Honorary Britannian!"

"He's the orphan child of Prime Minister Kururugi!"

One of the men knelt in the circle banged his fist upon the reed mat. "The man who _threw away_ this country! The people don't know that about him!"

The circle fell silent for a moment, some eyeing the man meditating a few feet from them, before they returned to their discussion.

"The incident in Shinjuku was the work of Kōzuki's squadron, is it not?"

"Yes. Currently a man named Ohgi is leading them."

"A full-blooded Japanese this time?"

"Yes, it seems so."

Another of the men, the General in charge, bowed his head in thought. "Has Kururugi's family said anything?"

Kururugi Genbu had been his commanding officer. He had even met his young son once during a dinner party. The boy hadn't said much, though when he did speak out of turn, his father was quick to reprimand him. From what he had heard from others though, the boy could be quite the spoiled brat when he chose.

What sort of person was Kururugi Suzaku now?

"No. It seems they cut off all relations with him after he joined the military."

The General finally did what no one else in the room had the guts to do. He turned and addressed the meditating man, the one the others had eyed warily. "What do you think, Tohdoh?"

The stern face of the man never changed as he weighed his words heavily. He out of all of them had known the boy best, after all. "We have no obligation to accompany him on his public suicide."

Another of the men sneered. "That's quite timid, considering that you are Tohdoh the Miracle worker."

Sharp grey eyes found the man's, who's sneer fell for only a moment. "I have no intention of confusing miracles with recklessness. Suzaku made his choice and we will honor his sacrifice, but we work for the freedom of all Japan. We can't treat him as though he is special just because he is the son of the Prime Minister or because he took out the Viceroy."

The man scowled.

The rest of the group took to talking amongst themselves, most voicing their support of Tohdoh's words, while the man himself returned to his meditation.

His mind was unfocused though, straying from the path of inner peace no matter how much he tried to force it back. He had crafted the boy's skills as a soldier and have even considered Suzaku almost like his own son. Had the war not happened, he believed he would have even passed on his families sacred heirloom to the boy, seeing as he had no son of his own to pass it down to.

To see him fall as he had now, becoming a slave of the Empire, he would almost have rather seen the boy dead.

Of course, he had done his country proud by his most recent actions, and Thodod couldn't help but wonder if that had been the plan all along. Suzaku wasn't a boy of planning, he took actions ad thought about the consequences after. Had that changed in the 3 years since he had seen him?

….

Being stuck in a hospital was stiflingly boring. Jeremiah had come to visit her whenever he could, bringing her news and anything else she asked for, but that did little to alleviate the boredom of being trapped.

He had informed her that the culprit of her brother murder had been caught, and while for a moment she felt horror rising in her at the thought of someone else being punished for her actions, she quickly pushed it down and moved on.

It was a necessary sacrifice. Their death would mean the freedom of the world from a Tyrant… at least that is what she told herself when she was tossing and turning in the night.

She didn't wish to know who they were for fear the guilt would consume her.

The door opened and a familiar lavender haired man stuck his head in, his normal demented smile plastered to his face.

She forced a polite smile onto her own face. "Lord Asplund. To what to I owe this visit?"

"Please, Your Highness, call me Lloyd." The man dropped into an over the top bow as he fully entered the room, and Leloucia felt fairly certain he was mocking her. "I'm overjoyed to see you alive, Your Highness~ I thought you might have died in Shinjuku after you left us. How did you survive?"

"That's none of your concern, Lord Asplund."

"Ah yes, ah yes. The secrets of the Royals." An odd gleam came into his eyes. "You know…. I m rather interested to know what you did to me though. See, it's the most peculiar thing... I don't remember anything out of the ordinary, but anytime I try to mention you as a Princess, I can't. Nothing comes out. It's like I'm being forcibly restrained." He gave her a pointed look. "And I have the sneaking suspicion you're somehow behind this."

"And you want it removed?"

"Oh, on the contrary! I want to know what it is and how you did it."

She stayed silent and so he continued.

"You see, I came here to ask you a favor." He swayed back and forth on spot, as though he could hardly contain himself. "I want to study it. I want to learn everything about it. I want to know how it works and where you learned it. I want to use it for myself."

It wasn't to hard to recognize a bad idea when you saw it. Lloyd, with this sort of power at his disposable, would destroy the world. He wouldn't want to rule it like Charles or Schenizel, or use it to secure a lavish life like Clovis. Lloyd wouldn't stop building and inventing new weapons until he was either killed by one of them, or it blew up the world.

Leloucia weighted her options.

"Alright, Lloyd. I will take you up on your offer, however, I require a few incentives. First, your silence."

"Your power has already assured that."

She shook her head. "I mean it, Lloyd. I know you work for my brother, Scheizel. I won't have him knowing of this."

That was just what she needed. Schneizel able to make people do whatever he wanted. Her brother already had a way with words, she didn't need to make him a God.

Before Lloyd could respond, Leloucia's regular nurse walked.

Leloucia glanced at the clock. 5:02 exactly.

Ignoring Lloyd and Leloucia complete, the nurse moved to the foot of the bed and began reciting _Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 3_.

Lloyd watched her with an odd mix of fear, excitement and curiosity. "Is this…"

"Yes."

Act 2, Scene 3 done, the nurse bowed and walked out of the room.

"Fascinating."

Leloucia turned to face him, acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened, and continued with her demands with more confidence than she had before. She had seen it in his eyes. He was hooked, his curiosity to overwhelming to ignore. "Second, I want your help. I understand you and your crew are irregulars from the military, working under my brother in development of Knightmares and other such weaponry."

Jeremiah had been quick to fill her in on all their work when she had asked about them.

"You would be correct," he laughed.

"Good. I will be making use of that then. You already have a capable pilot in Suzaku, I request that he remain in that position."

The smile on Lloyds face seemed to waver. "Well, um, you see, Your Highness, that might be a bit of a problem."

"…Why?"

Lloyd gave a bit of an awkward laugh. "You haven't heard? Their blaming that boyfriend of yours for your brother's death. So, as you can see, using him as the pilot _might_ be a bit of a problem if he's dead."

The heart monitor was once again the only sound that filled the room, much louder and faster than before.

"Boyf-?" Leloucia's blood ran cold. "Suzaku!?"

...

A/N: Every time I come back to this site, I can never seem to figure out this uploading thing. I swear it took me at least an hour to figure out how to even upload my latest chapter. I guess its just something you have to get used too lol.

Also, Happy New Year!


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